Tales of a Faker
by Teremko
Summary: AU from the third Scenario of the V/N. What if, as Shirou decided to protect Sakura instead of staying on the path of the Superhero, Kotomine couldn't save her from the Worm Crest? Before dying, Sakura asks Rider to make a contract with Shirou.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Tales of a Faker

**Pairing:** Shirou/Rider as main pairing, Shirou/Rider/Rin/Ilya + maybe others later

**Rating:**M (For violence, language and adult situations)

**Summary:** AU from Heaven's Feel: What would have happened if, as Shirou decided to discard his ideals to save Sakura, Kotomine couldn't help her and she died, issuing a last order to her Servant to make a contract with Shirou ?

**Warnings:**Descriptive violence, death, strong language, implied adult situations. No lemon expected for now, if ever. Spoilers for the V/N Fate/Stay Night This story assumes you already have some basics in the scenario of the V/N in general and Heaven's Feel in particular.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero or any Type-moon or nasuverse reference. No money was earned (but if you want to donate me anything, feel free =D).

**AN: **Please be indulgent as it is my first story ^^ All constructive criticisms will be gladly and gratefully accepted !

**Tales of a Faker**

Chapter 1

The weather was very cold. It wasn't raining yet, but the air was chilly and I could feel that a storm was coming. I was sitting on a bench in a desolate park. Nobody was out at this time. Of course the little fairy-like girl wouldn't be there. After all, we said we would be Masters at night. A small part of me was disappointed that she wasn't there, but for now I had other things to think about. Even though I looked dead on the exterior, my mind was boiling with different thoughts.

'As a magus, I can't let Sakura become a heretic. If it comes to it, I'll have to kill her. What will you decide, Emiya-kun?' The cold voice of Tohsaka was echoing in my head.

'If she's left alone, a lot of people may die. If you're willing to let go of your ideal, Emiya Shirou will be judged by himself.' Archer's prophetic words seemed to resonate within my soul, as if somebody had walked on my grave.

'If I became a bad person, would you be mad at me?' Sakura's seemingly innocent question, almost as an afterthought, suddenly became of the utmost importance.

'I'll become a Hero of justice so that a disaster like ten years ago can never happen again.' My own words, which had defined me for a decade, seemed so hollow now.

"….-chan"

'To be a Hero is to be selfish. If you save someone, you cannot save someone else. A hero saves only those he wants to.' My father's words cut me deep. Who would I chose? The many I didn't know or the few ones I loved?

"ONII-CHAN!" Huh? Oh, Ilya was here. It seemed she came around when I was deep in thought. Normally I would be happy that she came to see me, but I couldn't bring myself to care right now.

"Shirou, that's not nice to ignore a lady. Especially when she went a long way to see you." Ilya said mischievously while hugging my arm. I normally found her childish behavior endearing, but at this moment, I just wanted to choke her. It was foolish, but I didn't want her to be happy when my whole world was falling apart. Even so, I tried my best to stay polite.

"What are you doing here Ilya? Weren't you the one to tell me we would be enemies after nightfall?"… Or not. It seemed my brain wasn't working at full capacity. Ilya looked up at me with surprise in her ruby eyes.

"Hmmm, that was when we were enemies, Onii-chan. Now that you have lost Saber and your Command Sigils, you are not a master anymore. Now, I can make you mine!" She finished happily while tackling my arm again. The gesture was both cute and innocent, but for now, I absolutely couldn't deal with it.

"Cut it out! I don't have time to play with you now Ilya." I snapped angrily at her, while jerking my arm away. Ilya stepped back, looking like she had been slapped. I instantly lowered my eyes to the ground. It ashamed me that I would take it out on Ilya, who had always been cheerful and who I had began to know and like in the previous days. Now, I had snapped at her, rejecting her just because she had been happy to see me. I braced myself for the angry answer she would give while shutting my eyes, but instead of harsh words and a glare, I felt a hand gently stroke my hair. Startled, I looked up to see Ilya with a small sad smile on her face, patting my head.

"Ilya …"

"How could I be mad at you when you look like you'll cry anytime soon? I don't think you could bear someone else hating you right now so I'll forgive you this time." Her small smile got brighter and wider as she talked. I suddenly felt a rush of affection for the snow daughter and embraced her little form. I heard her giggle a bit.

"Silly Onii-chan, you really thought I would hate you?" She giggled a bit more, but then she became serious as she stepped away from my embrace. "So, what will you do concerning Sakura? You know that Rin will try to kill her if she shows the slightest sign of becoming a heretic." It didn't even surprise me that Ilya knew about Sakura. After all, she was one of the most powerful magi in this war so it was obvious she would have some source of information. "You know, I wasn't totally joking when I said I would make you mine, Shirou. I like you so whatever path you chose, I'll support you."

My thoughts stopped when I heard that. Basically, Ilya just said that she would betray her family and heritage to help the adoptive son of the man who had abandoned her.

"Ilya, why would you go against everything you learned and believed just for me? Didn't you want to kill me?"

Again, the fairy-like girl's face got this sad and gentle smile. "Yes, I wanted to kill you at first. But since then, I have learned a lot about you and your personality. Instead of being afraid of me and reject me, even since you learned of our connection, you have tried your best to connect with me. Even though the Einzbeirn raised me, they did it to get the best master they could. You, on the other side, tried to connect with me because for you, that's what siblings would do. It's because of that that I want to help you."

My thoughts process stopped again at those words. So it was that simple. Ilya liked me so she wanted to keep me safe and help me. After all, that was the best reason for being allies. And then it hits me like lightning. A lot of memories with Sakura and I. Memories of cooking together, going to school and back together, eating with Fuji-nee. All this time, I had tried to delude myself that I only saw her as an underclassman, or at the extreme, as a sister.

Wow, no wonder Tohsaka and Fuji-nee thought I was denser than a brick. But now, I could say it without hesitation. I liked, no, I loved Matou Sakura with all my heart. Then it was obvious what path I would take.

For a moment, I closed my eyes. In my mind, I saw the fire that made me the person I was now. I also thought about my oath to the blue servant who had been my shield and sword for a few days and sacrificed herself to protect me. Taking a deep breath I made my decision.

"Yeah Ilya. What good is the world I save if the ones I love are not in it? Even I know that."

And I rejected it all. I felt something crack deep inside me as the cries of the victims of the fire echoed in my head and I knew no amount of atonement would make up for it. Then, another memory of Sakura and me popped in my mind, and my resolve ruthlessly crushed my guilt. As my father said, a hero had to be selfish in which people to save. From now on, I would become a hero for my loved ones. If protecting them saved other, all the best, but they would always come first.

The smile on the snowy girl seemed to brighten the entire little park. "Yes and that's why I'll support you, Onii-chan. I'm glad you didn't become like Kiritsugu."

That's right. My father would have sacrificed Sakura without another thought if it could have saved other people. As a matter of facts, he had abandoned Ilya for that. Even though I had admired and loved him deeply and still did, it was the only thing I couldn't forgive him for. It seemed my protectiveness had expanded from Sakura to Ilya.

"You know, Ilya, when I said I would protect my loved ones, you were included in them. It's twice now that you have helped me and I like you too. If you ever need my help or simply want to see me, I'll do my best to be there for you." I told her sincerely.

"Even though I'm not sure what I could do that you couldn't do yourself or with Berserker's help." I added, while laughing a bit sheepishly.

Ilya seemed surprised by my words and then blushed a bit before tackling me in a tight hug.

"Yay, Onii-chan will become my new doll!" And said something outrageous. My face must have been funny because she burst in laughter. Calming herself, she beamed at me.

"Joking aside, I'll be in your care then, Shirou." She did a little curtsy. As the first raindrop fell, she turned away in the direction of the church.

"You should go, it wouldn't do for you to come after everything's over wouldn't it, Onii-chan? I hope I'll see you soon!" She smiled at me and twirled a bit before walking away while humming softly. My gaze lingered a bit on her before I ran quickly back to the church.

The rain started to fall in earnest and I could hear faintly the thunder coming.

* * *

Interlude

Pain. My whole world was pain. I could feel it in my whole body, but mostly in my spinal chord and near my heart, like a knife stabbing me there. I could also feel my magical circuit being burned away as my magical energy was drained. The pain was constant but at regular interval, it would peak in my core, alternatively sending me into insanity, and then back into sanity. And then, the pain was numbed. I could feel my consciousness coming back.

"It seems you are awake, Matou Sakura." I heard a strong male voice calling my name. I recognized the man as being Kotomine Kirei, the supervisor of the Holy Grail War. For a brief moment, I wondered what I was doing in a place like that before the events of the day came crashing on me, making me shiver. I remembered being taken by Nii-san from Sempai's place, then being dragged to school, a silent Rider standing indifferently and silently aside. Then, sempai came, and took a beating from Rider to try to free me, ending when she sent him to Nii-san and he took the knife threatening me. I then remembered taking back the control of Rider when Nii-san tried to kill Sempai, the battle afterward and then, fainting when Nii-san used an aphrodisiac.

"So, do you know what's wrong with you, Matou Sakura?"

"Of course I do priest-san. It is my body after all." My voice was raspy. It fitted with the burning I could feel in my throat.

"Very well. Then you know that I cannot do anything to cure you. I thought I could remove enough of the worm to let you work as a normal human at least, but it was too anchored in your nerves and body. With the additional drain of using a Servant your magical and physical energy will be depleted in very little time."

"Yes. As I feel it, it would seem I'll die in about an hour, maybe two. Less if I try to use any magecraft."

"Oh as expected from the Matou heiress. You know your body quite well. So let me ask you, Matou Sakura. What will you do with the few moments you have still? You seem to take your impending end quite well." The priest's even tone took a slight amused quality to it as he finished talking.

"It's true. I thought I would be scared from death, but I feel I can accept it like this. After all, I'd rather die than become a monster that would eat people to get their energy." As I talked, I could feel a tear stream on my cheek. "But you know it is quite a pity. Sempai was just starting to acknowledge me." My tone was the slightest bit bitter and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit, but the chuckle turned into a coughing fit. "It seems I have even less time that I thought. Priest-san, could you please open the backdoor for me so that I can speak with my servant?"

"It seems you have chosen what to do with your remaining moments. Let me just remind you that materializing your servant will drain your magical energy even faster."

"I know, but it has to be done. In a way, Sempai got hurt because of me. It is only fair that I protect him to atone for that."

"Very well I won't try to stop you. I'll let the door unlocked so that you can either talk to your servant or try to flee death if that is what you wish. Either way, I don't really care. I saved your life because it was asked of me but what you do with the rest of your life is your business." Even though the pain was coming back little by little, the last words were so typical of the fake priest that I couldn't help but laugh. Once more, the laugh provoked a bad coughing fit. By the time I recovered from it, the priest had disappeared, letting only the almost hidden door in the back of the room opened.

As I got out in the little courtyard behind the church, I got surprised by the cold rainstorm. Still I had something important to do.

"Rider, could you please come forth?" As soon as I finished, the air rippled beside me and my beloved Rider appeared. Her long purple hair was dancing around her in the wind. Her dark outfit seemed to be a part of the darkness surrounding us. Even though I couldn't see her eyes behind her blindfold, I knew her gaze was fixed on me and her mouth was in a fine line, betraying her concern.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to make me take form with your magical reserves so depleted, Sakura?" Her voice would seem emotionless to anybody, but I could hear the worry in her soft tone. Although Rider appeared as a brutal killing machine without any emotions, almost the epitome of the antihero, she had kept her good heart and could be very protective of those she liked. She had protected her sisters for a long time after all, and she had never killed human for killing's sake. It had disgusted me that Nii-san would force her to kill innocent humans to increase her magical reserves.

"From the connection of our contract, you know as well as I that I only have a few moments left before I die from lack of magical energy. Even if I could survive, it would be as a vegetable at best and as a crazy killing monster at worst. Even though I want to live, I cannot force this kind of thing on Sempai. I want him to remember me as his underclassman and friend, not as a something so disgusting." As I talked, I found that I didn't have any hesitation about this way. Before I had been afraid to die, but for now I could welcome death with a smile if it would mean that Sempai wouldn't have to see me become a bad person. I looked at Rider who was staring with quiet intensity at me. After a few seconds, she sighed.

"Very well Sakura. What do you want me to do?" I could feel that she wasn't happy seeing me accepting death while being powerless to stop it but I was still her master and even then she wanted to know what I would order her to do. Even so close to death, such loyalty warmed my heart. I smiled at my devoted servant.

"I want to protect my most important persons. Nee-san doesn't need help as she still has a servant, but Sempai lost his and once I die, you won't have a master anymore and you will disappear. To prevent that, I would like for you to make a contract with Sempai to become his servant. If it's you, I know I can safely place Sempai in your care. And I know Sempai will be a thoughtful master for you, even if I think he'll be stubborn to deal with." I couldn't help but giggle a bit at the mental picture of the future interactions between the cold and collected Rider and the stubborn charge-ahead Shirou. Rider looked at me quietly, pondering at the situation.

"Will you use your last Command Sigil for this order, Sakura? Else, I'll do anything I can to keep you alive." The tone was still soft, but there was the same firmness as the mountains. I sighed. Rider could be very stubborn as well. Sempai and she had definitely more in common that what could be seen at first sight. I gathered my will on my last Command Spell, making it glow with a red light.

"By the power of my Command Spell, I ask of you: Let me die peacefully and after my death, make a contract with Emiya Shirou." I felt a sharp pain in my right hand when the sigil fainted, and I felt the magical energy settle around Rider, compelling her to obey my command. "Please protect him and treat him as you would me, Rider" She gazed at me, deep in thoughts.

"As you ordered me, I'll make a contract with Emiya Shirou in case you would die, but how I'll be with him depends on how he acts. I won't give my respect and devotion beyond that of a Servant to someone unworthy." Her answer made me giggle a bit. Rider could be quite dishonest with her feeling sometimes.

"What is so funny, Sakura?" Rider seemed to be mad now, even though her demeanor was still quiet and emotionless.

"Fufufu, nothing … But you know you have an interest in him. After all, he thanked you when he didn't have to, and the way he endured your beating today made you have at least a grudging respect for him, don't you? Well unless you still harbor a grudge against him for the wound Saber did to you."

"I don't. To have a grudge against someone for that would be foolish and unpractical. Well, I'll see how it goes. Anyway …. Sakura?" Suddenly, the pain which had been numbed until then came back with a vengeance. It was as white hot knives were stabbed in my spine, heart, lungs, stomach and brain. Even though my pain threshold was very high, the suddenness of it sent me to my knees. I could feel Rider take me in her arms and take me back inside the church to lay me in the bed but I know it would be futile. The stress of materializing my Servant coupled with the using of a Command Spell was more that I could endure with my weakened body. I could feel the worm crest inside of me trying to get the most magic from me and could feel the panic that run through it when it saw that it wouldn't be enough to maintain its existence. I could feel the irony that it would be my grandfather prized tool which would kill a part of him. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be enough to take him to the grave with me. When the worm tried to flee from my body, I gathered what was left of me to keep it trapped inside me. Through the pain, I could hear my voice, almost as if it was somebody else speaking.

"Fufufu, it wouldn't do to flee now Grandfather. After all, you said yourself you would be with me until death."

Thinking a last time of my important persons, I could feel a smile stretch my lips. After a last picture of Sempai's smiling face, I knew no more.

* * *

As Rider ran with all the speed she could muster she could feel the unnaturally burning body of her Master. Her senses which were way more attuned than a human to the ambient magic felt something foul trying to get from Sakura's body, making her stop, ready to kill whatever it was. At this moment the girl in her arms tensed and the foul presence seemed to be restrained. A voice sweet as honey could be heard.

"Fufufu, it wouldn't do to flee now Grandfather. After all, you said yourself you would be with me until death." It amazed Rider that the pain Sakura was obviously in wasn't discernable in her voice. Glancing down, Rider saw the most beautiful smile she had ever seen on the quiet girl's face before she went totally still in her arms, the smile still there.

For a few seconds, the black clothed Servant stood there, frozen, until she felt a sharp pain in her hand and a big drain on her magical reserves, which hammered down the fact that the Servant Rider didn't have an official Master anymore in this Holy Grail War. Even though the drain was severe, Rider had an almost full reserve and the amount of mana she had was quite high so she wasn't worried about vanishing soon. At a more moderate pace, she went back to the room and put Sakura on the bed, with her hand joined, as if she was merely sleeping. Seeing the peaceful face, Rider felt a tear stream on her cheek before she swept it. She bowed a last time before the girl who had been her Master for a few months and turned back into spirit form, vanishing as if she was never there.

Interlude out

* * *

I ran all the way back to the church, without even feeling the heavy rain falling on me. When I arrived in front of the dark building, I felt a chill going through my spine. Shrugging it off, I took a deep breath before pushing the heavy doors open.

"Welcome back Emiya-kun. I hope that a bit of thinking made you see what you had to do." Tohsaka's voice greeted me as soon as I came in. Like me, she was soaked by the rain, but she still looked every bit the magus she was. Even though her voice sounded disinterested, her narrowed eyes and the gripping hand on her hip showed me that she was angry. But Tohsaka wasn't the only magus in this church. Taking a deep breath, I schooled my emotions and locked my narrowed eyes to hers.

"Yes Tohsaka, I know that. Better than most, some would say." I closed my eyes, thinking of what Ilya told me and the new resolve I had found.

"So you know that we have to …" She started, walking to the backdoor of the chapel.

"But Sakura hasn't done anything wrong yet." I interrupt her, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"What are you …" She was looking at me with a stoned face, no emotion whatsoever in her azure eyes. That was fine; I must have done the same.

"Sakura hasn't done anything wrong yet. As I see it, killing her now would be murder and I can't condone that. If you are still determined to kill Sakura, I'll have to stop you, Tohsaka." My voice was like steel, without any inflexion to it.

"Are you insane, Emiya-kun? You know that Sakura is a time-bomb which could go off anytime now. As Fuyuki Supervisor, it is my duty to prevent magecraft to be exposed to mundane people. Furthermore, if she went crazy like today again, she could kill every people in this town easily. Are you willing to risk so many lives?" I couldn't find a fault in her words. Obviously, it would be the best solution to make sure the most people would be saved. If it was anybody else, I would have wholeheartedly agreed with her.

'I'm glad you didn't become like Kiritsugu.'

But I had already decided that I would save my loved ones first. My father was right: a Hero had to be selfish. I was being selfish and decided I would favor Sakura over her potential victims.

Before I could answer Tohsaka I saw the priest coming back from the chapel behind the church and walking toward us.

"How is Sakura?"

"How is she doing?"

Huh, we talked with an eerie synchronization. Anger forgotten for a moment, we locked gaze before turning back to the priest, who had a slightly amused expression, even though his eyes were grim.

"My, my, I can't decide if you have a good or bad relationship." There was a hint of sarcasm in his even tone.

"Sh-sh-shut up, you fake priest, I don't want to hear that from you. Besides, how did the operation go?" At those words, the priest's amused expression vanished instantly, replaced by a dark one. He grimaced a bit.

"I couldn't save her." Five words. Only five words, but they stopped my heart and mind more efficiently than any weapon could have done.

"W-what did you say?" I had to force my throat to swallow, as my mouth had gone dry.

"I couldn't save her. I could remove a bit of the worm crest, but even if I had sacrificed very bit of my Magical Crest I couldn't have removed enough of it to make her be even remotely functional. The worm was so melded with her nerves that removing it would have paralyzed her entire body at best, and outright killing her by heart failure at worst. She regained consciousness for a few moments, and asked me to let her die peacefully. Personally, I think it was the best for her, seeing how her body would have behaved even if I could have removed more of the worm. She didn't want to become a monster so she asked me to let her die as a human."

I was numb. I stood there, frozen inside. I couldn't even bring my mind to work beyond repeating those two words. 'She died' 'She died' 'She died' 'She died' 'She died'…

"So, she died just because of this worm crest? Normally, such a familiar shouldn't be able to kill a magus as potentially powerful as Sakura." Unlike me, it seemed that Tohsaka could still think and process information. It must be the difference between a genius magus and a third-rate one like me.

"As expected of you, Rin. You're right of course. If it was only the usual worm crest, it wouldn't have been so bad. With training, Matou Sakura could have learned to seal it and it wouldn't have bothered her further. This one, however, was special. It seems its goal was to drain Sakura's circuits of magical energy if an appropriate stimulus was applied. This level of bug magecraft could only have been done by Matou Zouken. Besides the worm crest, there was something even worse. It seems that Matou Zouken wanted to have insurance if there was to be another Holy Grail War. He implanted a fragment of the Holy Grail from the last war in her, making her for all instance and purpose the receptacle for this Holy Grail, not unlike the Einzbern homunculus."

Numbness was replaced by red hot fury in my mind. So Sakura had been used as a receptacle for some bug by this Old man and he corrupted her further by putting some piece of what had provoked the fire ten years ago. But what did Kotomine mean while saying that Sakura was the receptacle of the Grail?

"Kotomine, what is the Holy Grail really? I thought that it was a holy artifact, like a cup or something. How could Sakura or Ilya be the receptacle?"

"Historically you would be right, Emiya Shirou. At first, the Holy Grail was the cup from which the Christ drank at his last meal and was believed to give his owner eternal life. But the Holy Grail we're talking about is another matter. Its goal would be to open the gate to the Root of existence: Akasha. To attain this goal you would need an amount of magical energy which could be considered infinite by human standards. Such an amount could never be contained in a mere physical shell so the master alchemists, the Einzbern made some kind of homunculus which could take in all this magical energy, often at the cost of having very short lives, and often some genetics diseases."

So this disgusting old man had totally desecrated an innocent girl just to get this retched thing. Even though it was to be expected from a magus, it disgusted me and made me glad I was considered a third-rate one. As cold-blooded I could become if it was needed, I could never use someone as an experiment. Still, one thing was obvious: Matou Zouken was solely to blame for Sakura's death. Zouken and this thrice damned Holy Grail, which was Holy in name only. They had killed my Servant and now, my beloved Sakura. Who would be next? As I thought about what the priest said, only one people would fit the bill. They would go after Ilya next. If they were going after another of my loved ones I would…

"Oh. What a scary face you are making there, Emiya Shirou." The priest's voice interrupted my thoughts but the mere sound of his voice was grating my nerves. It was like he was delighted by our reactions. I got a fleeting urge to punch his face but two things stopped me. First, I'm sure he would be able to stop me easily if I was to attack him. Secondly, if I had time to fight with this excuse for a priest, I could use this time to think about a plan to kill Zouken and destroy the Holy Grail ritual.

"Well it doesn't matter. Now that the Black Grail contained within Matou Sakura is gone, the Holy Grail war should go back to normal. What will you do, Emiya Shirou? Rin will obviously fight as she still has her Servant, but you are alone." The priest's question was valid and if it was anybody else, I'm sure it would be out of concern, but I still could feel the delighted tone of his voice, like he was finding the whole thing amusing. Anyway, my mind was set so it was a useless question.

"Isn't it obvious? I agreed to fight to stop senseless slaughter and this thing, with the benediction of a disgusting vampire killed what I would be fighting for. I'll fight for this retched abomination, and once I get it, I'll destroy it with my own hands." I turned to Tohsaka, who at first had been shell shocked by Sakura's death, but now was looking at me with an unreadable expression. "What will you do Tohsaka? Will you help me finish this senseless war?"

Tohsaka seemed a bit taken aback by my question, but quickly shed all emotions from her face and looked at me with the cold eyes of a magus ready to kill.

"As a Tohsaka, supervisor of Fuyuki land and a magus, the death of Matou Sakura was necessary. She chose to end her life herself and for that she has my respect. My apologies Emiya-san, but from what you have said, I'm afraid our goals don't coincide anymore. The alliance between the Tohsaka and Matou prevent me from attacking Matou Zouken and even so I wouldn't do it. Furthermore, I don't intend to let you destroy the Holy Grail, which would bring huge progress to the searching about the Root. In respect for our alliance, I'll let you go peacefully tonight, but the next time we meet, we will be enemies." Even though her words were not unexpected, I still hoped that she would side with me. Surprisingly the use of the suffix "-san" after my name hurt me a bit as it was severing any bond we could have shared but I was still a magus, even if only a third-rate. If it was how she intended to be, I would go my way without turning back.

"Very well Tohsaka-san." Oddly, I saw her flinch a bit at my calling of her. "As you have made your position clear, I won't try to convince you. Even though I really don't want to fight you, if you're willing to get in my way, I'll have to destroy you." I sighed a bit and then bowed deeply. "Although it only lasted a day, I would like to thank you for accepting being my ally, even though I didn't have anything to offer you. I wish you good luck, Tohsaka."

I turned away without acknowledging anybody further, but as I close the church's heavy doors behind me, I heard a faint "Good luck and farewell, Shirou".

* * *

As I left the church behind, I came across a red-clothed Servant with white hair. For a few moments, it was as if he would say something, but then he turned his head away and disappeared in spirit form. I shook my head and went on my way back home. I didn't seem to feel and process anything, as if my mind was totally disconnected from this world.

As I pushed the door open and looked at the familiar hallway, I felt the emptiness slowly flow away but it wasn't till I got to the living room, and more particularly the dark and empty kitchen that it suddenly fell on me that I would never see Sakura again. Never see her proud smile as she finished making a difficult meal, happy smile as we all ate together; never hear her happily banter with Fuji-nee about the archery club. There would never be a future where I would be together with her.

"Ugh …" I could hear a whimper coming from close, and got startled when I found it came from my throat. I could feel the warmth of my tears streaming on my cheeks and just like that, it was as a dam had broken. I fell on my knees, sobbing, and each sob was like a stab to my heart. I suddenly got the urge to go away from the silent house.

I went to the shed, but even there memories of Sakura waking me up, a soft smile on her lips assailed me, sending me again on my knees. But below the sorrow, I started to feel another emotion: white-hot fury cursed through me. I had been quite angry and upset before, but the anger I felt then was dwarfed by the pure rage I was feeling right now. With the rage came a feeling I was more familiar with: frustration. Frustration from doing nothing, from not having the skills or power to do anything.

"Damn it!" Damn it! ." I started to swear, punctuating each one with a punch to the ground.

"Damn it all!" Unknowingly Reinforcing my fist, I made the ground crack with my last punch.

"I'm surprised. To be upset to the point of losing control of your magecraft and not noticing my presence even though I didn't even try to conceal it. It seems to me that Sakura's feelings weren't as unrequited as she thought, were they Emiya Shirou?"

The voice was without a doubt female and familiar. Even though the soft tone was still her unusual mix of sultriness and monotone, I could hear a hint of grief in it. Standing on my feet I turned to the Girl who definitely shouldn't be there. As I looked at the purple-haired Servant, I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of every female Servant I had met. Saber had had the feeling of a Holy woman, and her dignity as a swordsman had added to her natural beauty. Caster, even if I had only met her twice was beautiful as well, with her pointy ears, giving her an elfin appearance, and her face had been more than beautiful to look at when she wasn't smiling in a wicked way. The Servant I had in front of me was very different from both of the others. First of all, her outfit was something that seemed to have been thought to both ensnare men and make her move without any limitations. She had a feline grace when walking but could have a snake-like agility and speed when fighting. Her face was half hidden by a leather blindfold, but what was shown looked like a doll face, which was matched by her stoic and cold personality.

Shaking my head from any distracting thoughts, I focused on the black-clothed servant, which was waiting patiently in front of the shed.

"Rider… How can you still be in this world? I thought Servant who lost their Master would disappear shortly after." I felt a stabbing sensation in my chest as I thought again about Sakura's death and I could see a slight wince in the normally stoic Servant who turned her head a bit away from me. It confirmed what I thought: that Rider had a deep respect for Sakura. I nodded my head briefly in apology. After shaking her head a bit, the purple-haired Servant looked back at me.

"Even though it isn't at the level of an Archer class, the Rider is often a lone warrior running across the battlefield. As so, the Rider class has a limited Independent Action skill. With it, I can stay in this world for about a day without a Master if I save my mana. Though I must say that I'm surprised you're asking me how I'm here rather than why."

Well when she said it like that, it made sense I should have asked why she was there first but I think I could be forgiven for not being in the best of state to think things through.

"Very well Rider, why are you here? As you don't have much time before disappearing, I would have thought you would be looking for a new Master to stay in this world if you wanted to. Or did you have any particular business at my home?"

Even though I didn't think I had anything of interest for Rider it was the only thing which made sense concerning her presence in my backyard. Or maybe she had decided it was my fault Sakura died and decided to tie loose ends before disappearing. I tried to reassure myself by telling me that if it was the case, she could have killed me without me even noticing her presence.

"Actually it is a bit of both. As you were once a Master, I thought it would be more beneficial if I was to make a contract with you, instead of a perfect stranger who would know even less about the situation than you."

Even though I acknowledged it, it was still painful to be constantly reminded that you were quite useless. Even more when it was said in an "as-a-matter-of-facts" tone of voice like Rider's. But even through her words, I could feel some … reluctance… to be in a new contract. I couldn't really make sense of it so I did the obvious thing.

"Rider, do you want to become my Servant?" I asked her straight, in a stone cold, dead serious voice. The black Servant was startled for a few moments and then sighed.

"To be truthful, my first choice would have been to just let myself disappear. I don't have an interest in the Holy Grail and the only reason for my presence in this war has just gone away. However, Sakura wanted me to protect you as you didn't have a Servant anymore and used her last Command Spell to order me to make a contract with you. Normally, the order would be absolute but as she died and her order wasn't only up to me, it is you that have the last word here. If you want me to be your Servant, I'll have to make a contract with you. If you don't, I'll be able to do whatever I want."

"And what do you want to do? I won't lie to you: I don't have any interest whatsoever in the Holy Grail but I will fight in this war till I win or die to stop a disaster from happening to the people I love. I couldn't save Sakura, but I don't want to lose anybody else because I was too depressed to stand up. Honestly, a Servant as powerful as you would be a great help. However, even if you wanted to become my Servant, there are a few things you should know. The first one is that I'm a failure as a magus. I can only do a few spells correctly, and as far as magical reserves go, I'm quite pathetic. I could only barely give any mana to Saber. That's why she had to sleep and eat a lot to preserve her energy. If you were to be contracted to me, I don't know if you would be as powerful as you are now or if you would be as limited as you were when under the command of Shinji. The other issue is that I won't fight Berserker's Master. She helped me and I owe her for now so I don't want to make her my enemy. Hmmm I think that's all I can think for now."

After I stopped talking, Rider took a thinking pose, with arms crossed on her chest, with her hand on her mouth.

"Hmmm you are a surprising person, Emiya Shirou. First of all you didn't decide to bind me against my will then never once did you make any attempt to convince me I should make a contract with you. Very well, in the order, I already told you I didn't have an interest in the Holy Grail. Even if I got it, it couldn't grant the wish I have. You and I are alike in the will to protect those we are close of, even though I think you're too trusting and I don't know if you could really kill someone with your hands to accomplish your goal. Even so, it isn't anything that cannot be corrected with time. As for your skills as a magus, while you truly have quite a low reserve of magical energy, I could see that you have twenty-seven magical circuits in your body. Even though most of them are dormant, it seems they are of good quality so you don't have to worry about the mana transfer. After you learn how to use your circuits, it should be more than enough for me to be at a good fighting level. As for Berserker's Master, it would be suicidal for me to fight her Servant anyway so I won't stop you to seek her as long as it doesn't endanger you."

Wow, she said all of that in a single sentence, without even breathing once, and still in this emotionless tone of voice. Some would say it was quite impressive, but I focused on something she said about my magical circuits.

"Hold on Rider. How come you can say I have magic circuits in my body when I have to use my nerves as a makeshift magical circuit each time I use magecraft?"

Normal human rarely have a magical circuit, let alone more than one and when they have one, it is often a very weak one. That is why I had to artificially create a magical circuit each and every time I wanted to cast a spell. So what was Rider talking about?

"Hmmm that would explain how used to pain you are. If you truly make a new circuit each time you use a spell, you must truly have a will of steel. Nearly all of the magi use some kind of a trigger to switch their circuits on and off. All of your circuits bar one are dormant so I don't think you ever used them."

"How come you can tell I have all those circuits? I never felt them and still you could they were there. Maybe you were wrong."

At this point, I was more arguing for the sake of arguing than for any other reason. If Rider was right, it would be a huge boost in my abilities. Even though my magical reserve would still be ridiculously small, by using constantly every circuit in my body, I could increase it faster and use my spells with more power.

"You forget my abilities, Emiya Shirou. Even though my Mystic Eyes are the one of petrifaction, the powerful ones can do other things, such as seeing the magic pattern in a body. But we digressed. Back to the point, what will you decide, Emiya Shirou?"

True, it wasn't the time to be distracted. Rider had only a limited time before disappearing so it was best to make my decision quickly. Looking her in the eyes, or what would be her eyes if she didn't have a blindfold, I had to ask a last question.

"If you were in exactly the same situation, but without the Command Spell, would you have come to me as well?"

It was an important question for me. I had to make sure that she would be willing to be with me. I didn't want her to stay only by duty and because of an order. We would have to work together so I wanted to be sure we could trust each other, and forcing her to make a contract with me would make me the same as Shinji, maybe worse. The mere thought of it made me shudder.

"At first no, I wouldn't have. In many ways, Sakura was my ideal master so I didn't see any interest in looking for another. However, you are someone interesting, Emiya Shirou. You seemingly have no regards for your well-being but can be selfish if needed, you seem to be a very kind person, but you have steel in you. I told you, as far as Master goes, I could do way worse than you. At the very least, your will and moral code is deserving of respect. That you seem to be willing to fight and that you have some potential doesn't hurt either."

Maybe Rider was shaken by the loss of her Master (I was trying my best not to think about Sakura, else I would break down again), or she was just very shy the last time we met at the Ryuudou Temple, but she talked a lot tonight. Maybe it was a sign that she trusted me. Still she had made her mind, so it was time to make mine as well.

"Very well, Rider. If you are willing, it would be my honor if you would make a contract with me."

Err even though I said that I didn't know if it would work simply like that or if there was a need for a summoning ritual. I wasn't even sure I could do the ritual if needed.

"There is a summoning ritual needed to seal our contract, but don't worry: I know the incantation, and the mana needed isn't a problem as the summoning uses the Grail's energy." Seemingly reading my mind, Rider reassured me. She then told me the aria needed for the summoning ritual and as I memorized it, drew a magical circle on the ground in the shed. I absently noticed that she used the exact same place where Saber came from one week ago. Finished with her work, Rider motioned for me to come closer.

"The summoning circle isn't really necessary as I am already summoned in this world, but it would improve your focus and help making sure everything is going as it should. Now you can tell the incantation while focusing your magical energy on the circle."

"Hmmm is there any risk of summoning another Heroic Spirit with the ritual?"

It wouldn't be good if, instead of making a contract with Rider, I was to summon another Heroic Spirit. Rider looked at me with a blanker look than usual, before a flicker of a smile danced on her lips.

"It seems I will have to instruct you a bit in magecraft as well, Emiya Shirou. You don't have to worry; another Heroic Spirit won't be summoned. The Grail already filled every spot. Besides, this summoning circle is specifically made for me."

Blushing a bit at the sight of her smile, which disappeared as quickly as it appeared, I stepped in front of the circle and took a deep breath, focusing on my internal self.

"Trace On.

I announce,

Your body shall be under my will, while my fate lies in your sword

In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this rule you shall answer

I swear I will be all that is good in this eternal world

I swear that I will be the vanquisher of all evil in this eternal world

You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, come forth from this circle of constraint

Guardian of the Balance!"

"I, the Servant who answer to the Class of the Rider, thereby pledge my loyalty to you, and accept you as my Master, Emiya Shirou. Our contract is now sealed."

As Rider accepted the contract, I felt a sharp pain on my left hand. As I looked down, I saw the familiar shape of the three Command Spells.

"Huh, they are exactly the same as they were when I was Saber's Master."

"Yes, the Command Spells are suited to the bearer so they will be the same, whatever Servant you summon. I can also tell you that the mana flow is enough for me to use the great majority of my abilities without penalties. I should have about eighty-five percents of the full power I wielded with Sa- my first Master. However, I think it would be wise not to use my Noble Phantasm unless as a last resort for now." It seemed I wasn't the only one doing their best not to think about Sakura. Instead I forced my attention on what she said and looked her status in my mind. Truly she had lost some of her power (a bit of strength and magical energy mostly, but not too much) and her Noble phantasm would be very draining to use, but she had gained a few ranks in luck much to my surprise. Suddenly, everything that happened during the day got back to me and I collapsed on my knees.

"Shirou, what happened, are you okay?" Rider was at my side in an instant. She helped me back on my feet and I could stand, if a bit shakily.

"Don't worry I'm just physically and magically exhausted. It seems my wound has started to bleed again as well." The bandage around my hand had become stained red with blood. "I should be better tomorrow in the morning. More importantly, I remember Saber needed to get food and to sleep to use less magical energy. What about you?"

"You don't have to worry about me. You are definitely providing me with magical energy so I won't need any food, even if I can still eat. I won't need to sleep either, as I can just go into Spirit Form. However, as soon as you are well enough, we'll have to discuss some things about our plan of action. For now, though, you will have to rest."

Even though I wanted to protest and try to get to the point immediately, I couldn't deny I felt dead on my feet. I let Rider take me to my room and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

_Fire was everywhere. It was a while since I had dreamed of the fire which had destroyed my neighborhood, but this fire felt different. It wasn't burning me for once. Suddenly, the fire disappeared, letting behind the strangest landscape I had ever seen. Dry red ground was spreading as far as I could see. The air was heavy with dust, giving a reddish color to everything. On the horizon was the only visible source of light, an ever distant dawn. Although there was no other source of light, everything was in clear details. I took it in all in a second, before focusing my attention to the most amazing things I ever saw. Swords. Countless swords. I was completely surrounded by sharp steel. The vision gave me both a deep elation, as if I got back a piece of me I never knew I lacked, and a sense of wrongness, as if I lost something else to get this part back. _

_ With those final mixed feelings, the world vanished and I only knew darkness._

**Servant Status_  
_**

**Class: **Rider

**Name: **Medusa

**Sex: **Female

**Height/Weight: **172cm 57kg

**Alignment: **Chaotic Good

Strenght: C+ Magical Energy: B

Endurance: E+ Luck: D+

Agility: B+ Noble Phantasm: A+

**Class Skills: **

Magical resistance: B: Cancel any magic requiring less than three verses. Very difficult to harm even with great or ritual magic.

Riding: A+ Ability to ride anything, even holy beasts and demons, with the exception of dragons.

**Skills:  
**

Mystic Eyes: A+: Mystic eyes of petrification. Petrifies anybody with magical resistance lesser than C

Independant Action: C. Ability to act without the order of a Master. With C rank, ability to last in the world for one day without a Master

Superhuman strenght: B: As a demon, increase the strenght by one rank when activated. The lenght of activation depends of the rank.

Divinity: E- : Medusa was of goddess descent but it degenerated when she was transformed into a demon.

**Noble Phantasm:**

Breaker Gorgone: C, support: Seal Rider's Mystic Eyes.**  
**

Bellerophon: A+, anti-army: Increase all abilities by a rank and speed by factor of ten. Use the powerful charge of a Pegasus.

Bloodfort Andromeda: B, anti-army: A bounded field which will dissolve anybody inside to absorb magical energy from the soul and blood.

**AN:** Here I am, first chapter published =) I have some plan of how I want my story to go, but with eaxms and Stage reports to finish, I'm afraid I won't be able to update regularly. Anyway, I would be grateful for any reviews, even flames, as long as they are useful to improve my writing and the story. Thanks a lot for reading this chapter and I'll try to update as soon as possible.

**AN2: **Following Blinded in a bolthole's review, I have changed Rider's stats to be a fair middle between her stats when she's under Shinji's command and when she's under Sakura's control. Thanks a lot to those who have reviewed ! Again I'll try my best to upload the second chapter as soon as possible =)


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: Tales of a Faker

**Pairing:** Shirou/Rider as main pairing, Shirou/Rider/Rin/Ilya + maybe others later

**Rating****: **M (For violence, language and adult situations)

**Summary:** AU from Heaven's Feel: What would have happened if, as Shirou decided to discard his ideals to save Sakura, Kotomine couldn't help her and she died, issuing a last order to her Servant to make a contract with Shirou?

**Warnings****: **Descriptive violence, death, strong language, implied adult situations. No lemon expected for now, if ever. Spoilers for the V/N Fate/Stay Night. This story assumes you already have some basics in the scenario of the V/N in general and Heaven's Feel in particular.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero or any Type-moon or nasuverse reference. No money was earned (but if you want to donate me anything, feel free =D).

**AN: **Please be indulgent as it is my first story ^^ All constructive criticisms will be gladly and gratefully accepted!

**Tales of a Faker**

Chapter 2

Interlude

The church stood, isolated on the top of the hill. There were trees around it and a graveyard behind but no home or any building. On the ground, crawling from tree to tree, a shadow blended in the darkness and made his way to the graveyard. The shadow moved methodically and without precipitation, but with a speed and a precision that was unthinkable from a human. Suddenly, the moon, which had been hidden by the clouds until then pierced the night and, for a split second the white skull of the Servant Assassin shone, showing its smile to the world. Repressing a curse, the black-clad Servant crouched instantly behind a grave.

Assassin was worried. His Master had asked him to get something from the church. Normally such an order would be next to nothing for the experimented killer, but something about this location was chilling him out. The air seemed frozen around the church, but at the same time there seemed to be an unnatural livingness that wasn't making any sense. The contradicting feelings he got from the place were already bothering him, but if it wasn't enough, he was worried about the one living in the church. Assassin had only seen the priest once from afar, but it was enough to see that the man was more than a mere member of the clergy. The man had a natural oppressive aura and had the movements of a trained killer. Still, Assassin had a mission and he wouldn't fail. Using his innate ability to erase his presence, he suppressed his already low mana input to a near inexistent level and vanished from view. A heartbeat later, the backdoor of the church was opened and the Servant was inside.

The killer found himself in a stone room. Besides a wall there were a couch and a few armchairs with a low table, but it was the centre of the room that got his attention. There stood a stone bed, with a body lying under a white sheet. Taking the cover away, Sakura's body was revealed, in its preserved glory. It seemed the table got some stasis rune etched on it because, except for the absence of the tell-tale uprising of the chest and the lack of warmth, the corpse looked like it was still alive and just merely asleep.

"Hmmm, I wonder why the Magus wanted me to take his granddaughter's heart." Truly, the request from his master was odd, but it didn't matter to him: an order was an order and to reject a mission because he didn't understood the orders would be against everything he stood for. Putting his black coat aside, he was ready to use his use his arm to take the fallen girl's heart when suddenly he leapt back with all the strength he could muster and fixed himself on the ceiling. At the same time, three swords impaled themselves in the space he had just left.

"Oh, I thought a rat had infiltrated itself inside, but it seems I found a huge and ugly cockroach instead." An amused voice seemed to come from everywhere. Then a huge killing intent filled the room, sending the black Servant on the ground, kneeling. Footsteps could be heard coming, and a man appeared. He could be considered handsome with his gold blond hair and red eyes. His face was set in an arrogant expression of amused disdain. He was clothed in casual black jacket and jeans, with one hand in his pocket and the other still raised.

"W-wh-who are you? What are you doing here?" The normally cool and collected Assassin couldn't stop his stutter. Whoever this guy was, he was clearly dangerous. It was further proved when the killing intent permeating the room increased still, as the amused expression vanished from the blond man.

"An ugly cockroach like you dares to look at me and question me in such an insolent tone? You forget your place, mongrel. A lowly bug like you should creep on the ground while looking down. Only a true hero should be allowed to put his eyes on me." As he was talking, numerous weapons started to appear behind him coming from a ripple in the space-time.

"That's enough, Archer. Why don't we hear what was Matou Zouken's peon looking for in this place? After all, a holy place like a church shouldn't become a place of killing and bloodshed." The two Servants turned their head to the priest who had come unnoticed. As usual, Kotomine seemed to harbour a casual bored expression, with a hint of amusement but Assassin could tell immediately that the man in front of him didn't have the slightest opening for him to exploit. With a shake of his head, the red-eyed man made a gesture with his hand, making the weapons vanish.

"Well Servant of the dagger, Assassin, what do you seek in this place? What does your Master want so badly that he would break the rules and breaking in on the Supervisor's ground? Answer and your life may be spared." Even though neither the Servant nor the Priest were doing anything threatening, the black killer felt like a sword was poised on his throat, ready to slit it without the slightest hesitation. Without any choices, he could only answer truthfully.

"The magus who is my Master asked me to get a possession of his back: this girl's body to be specific." Assassin was slowly getting his composure back and was starting to plan how to escape. Oddly, his answer seemed to amuse the priest even more.

"Oh so this vampire wants his toy back? Well I can't really blame him. After all I examined it so I know what it can do. Very well Servant Assassin, you may take her back to your Master. But may this be a lesson for you: trespass on this holy ground again and your life shall be forfeited, Old man on the mountain." The black-clad Servant was taken aback for a few moments, but not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he quickly picked up the purple-haired girl's body and quickly made to the door. However, just before he could go to safety, a sharp pain flared on his right side, making him collapse on his knees. Looking at his side, he could see a straight black sabre, with an ornate hilt, which disappeared shortly after.

"So... you wanted ... to kill me... anyway?" Each word was accompanied by a fresh wave of pain.

"Don't flatter yourself, mongrel. You are not worthy of being slain by my blade. A cockroach like you should be crushed by a heel like the bug you are." Even though the golden-haired Servant had just pierced him with a sword, Assassin couldn't feel any enmity from him. However, the mere sound of his voice sent a shiver of fear in his spine. "No, this much won't kill a cockroach like you, but as you offended the King, it is only fair that you should be punished. From now on, when in my presence, you will feel fear as you should in front of your better. Now be gone, mongrel, your pitiful appearance doesn't amuse me anymore." With those last words, the blond man disappeared in a shower of gold motes.

Looking around, he could see that the priest had already left the room, leaving him alone with the corpse of Matou Sakura. As the injury on his side wasn't life threatening for now, he quickly picked up the body again and fled as fast as he could from the church.

* * *

"Are you sure it was wise to let the old vampire get the Black Grail back, Kotomine? This thing is just a disaster waiting to be unleashed." The blond Servant was casually sitting on the couch, drinking wine from the priest special reserve. Kotomine looked at the Servant with amused eyes.

"Oh, is that worry I hear in your tone, Gilgamesh? Worry for those poor humans you could kill without any care? I must say it is surprising."

"Of course I'm worried. Those humans are my toys. Only I, the King, should have the right to kill them or to let them live." The answer made the priest nod his head in understanding.

"Don't worry, King of Heroes, even though the old vampire shall get his puppet back, it won't be nearly as powerful as it would have been had Matou Sakura survived. The reason I let it go is because I want to see what will happen now. A normal Holy Grail War would be quite boring for us after all." At this, a smirk appeared on the King's face.

"As usual you do whatever you wish, Kotomine. Still you make things interesting so I'll humor you for now." The smirk then disappeared "But should this pawn break his chains, I'll destroy it" The Servant disappeared without a trace leaving a smiling priest behind.

* * *

While the black-clad Servant was on his way to get his puppet back, Matou Zouken was panting on the ground in the library of the Matou's mansion. Even after a few hours, the unholy pain he felt when the Worm Crest he had put in Sakura's heart was crushed was still as intense. Such pain would be equal to have your heart, lungs and liver pulled forcibly from your body. Any lesser men would have been rendered insane by now, but Zouken was different. After all, he had lived in a slowly rotting body for more than four hundred years now. Compared to the agony of feeling your body rot from the inside with every breath, the pain of having your organs crushed or torn apart wasn't so frightening. Still, it was painful and crippling, but in a few moments, the magus would be functional again.

After a few more minutes, the old magus took a deep breath and could stand up again. Now that the pain wasn't occluding his senses anymore, he could feel the link with his Servant again. It seemed Assassin had been injured while doing his mission but as it didn't seem to impede too much on his abilities, the worm user decided to let it be for now. After all, he had other things to do. Moving with a speed which belied his old appearance, Zouken went looking for the disappointment he called a grandson.

After knocking on the door a few times without getting an answer, Zouken's already thin patience totally disappeared and the door was blown away. Inside the room, sitting on the bed with an unfocused stare was Shinji. He looked surprised for a second at his grandfather's brutal entrance before his eyes gained a manic quality to them. The smirk on his face was no less insane

"So Grandfather, are you going to ridicule me as well? Are you going to tell me again what a failure I am and how Sakura is better than I will ever be? Sakura, Sakura, it's always Sakura. Well she'll see when she gets back-" A slap stopped him mid-rant as the old magus sent his grandson on the ground, clutching his face in pain. When the bug user talked, it was in a cold emotionless voice.

"Be silent, you imbecile. Your incompetence, I could have forgiven. After all, it isn't your fault you were born without magic circuits. But your arrogance is what almost caused my death and what made us lose a precious tool."

"What do you mean, 'losing a tool'? Sakura will be as obedient as-" A quick burst of killing intent silenced the blue haired boy.

"Because of your stunt at school, you provoked a powerful reaction in Sakura, which hastened her death. I can't believe that more than ten years of planning and cunning almost got wasted by the foolishness of a teenager." At this time, the black Servant Assassin dropped besides the old magus, a human figure in his arms. The sight made Shinji go green in the face, while Zouken got a smile on his face. This smile frightened the young man more than the corpse of his foster sister.

"Fortunately, it seems that not everything is lost. Even though you are a disappointment and a failure, I have decided to grant you your dearest wish, Shinji."

"W-what do you mean, Grandfather?"

"That's very simple Shinji. I'll make you a magus and the Matou heir. You see, even though you don't have the slightest magic circuit in your body, your genes are compatible with magical energy. Do you know how first generation magus made their magic circuits? It is said they take magical energy from their environment and use it through their nerves, actually transforming their nervous system into a makeshift magic circuit. This process is very painful but it is said that after enough time it is possible that a permanent circuit could be created. Normally the time needed would be too much for it to be useful but fortunately, I have a tool I can use to quicken the process." As he finished, a wet squelch could be heard as the black Servant plunged his arm into the girl's body and pulled back, tearing her heart away. He gave it to the old magus, who stared at it with undisguised glee and started to cackle manically.

"Ka kaka kakakaka, dear granddaughter, you thought you could escape my clutches but even in death you shall serve my goals." Suddenly, his laughter stopped short and he lowered his gaze to the child looking fearfully at him from the ground. He motioned to the killer standing beside him. "Assassin, take him to the training room." Before Shinji mutter a protest, he was picked up by the Servant and quickly taken to the underground room under Sakura's false bedroom.

It was a morbidly fascinating sight. The crypt-like basement had a very high ceiling and the walls were opened by numerous holes. Those holes were the last resting place of a lot of corpses, some from the ancestors of the Makiri's family but many more were random dead people. Those corpses were rotting which made the room an ideal nest for many kinds of bugs and worms. Even though the room should have been totally dark, a bit of light could make his way inside, colouring the whole crypt with a sickly dark green tint. However, the most fascinating, and disgusting, thing was the seemingly moving ground, which was actually a sea of bugs and worms. The room was filled by the numerous sounds the bugs were making. Shinji knew of this room. He had seen Sakura being trained numerous times after all and he didn't want to go through this torture. He tried to break free from the black clad killer, but his grip was too strong for him to do anything more than wiggle a bit. Stopping at the top of the last flight of stairs above the worm-covered ground, the old magus turned to Shinji with a horrible smile on his face. As he started to speak, all noise seemed to disappear as every bug turned eerily toward him.

"Here you are dear grandson. Your lifelong dream shall be accomplished: you'll become the newest heir of the Matou name. However, I have to warn you: the use of Sakura's heart to forcefully create magic circuit in your nervous system will be so painful that you won't keep your sanity or even yourself. But I think the loss of your mind and humanity for the ability to use magecraft sounds fair. Equivalent exchange is a basic law of magic after all Kekekekekeke." Cackling madly, the old magus raised the hand holding Matou Sakura's heart which got progressively covered in worms and in a violent move, thrust it inside the blue haired boy. As soon as the old man retracted his arm, Assassin threw Shinji on the ground below. The bugs and worms retracted for a moment to make space for him and then started to cover him wit an excited chatter. For a few seconds, Shinji could only feel detachment and a morbid fascination as he felt his body being covered by crawling worms, but then his whole self was assailed by pain. It was as if someone had taken all of his nerves and put melted iron in them. At the same time, he could feel the bugs worming their way inside of him, violating his body as the pain was violating his mind, tearing it apart. For a few seconds, who felt like an eternity to him, Shinji tried to endure the pain, but as his sight blackened, due to the worms covering his face, he could only feel despair as he started to scream. Even then his scream sounded like hysterical laughter. It was so funny: he had wanted to become a magus so bad, and now that he was granted his wish, he found that being normal wasn't so bad after all. So he could only laugh and scream in pain. His last thought was that at least, it was him that got Sakura's heart and not Emiya. With a last hysterical laughter, he knew no more.

Above, standing on the stairs, the old magus looked down with a pleased expression as the last part of his grandson's face got covered by the moving sea of bugs, and the laughter stopped.

"Kakaka, well done, Shinji. For the first time, you have made me proud." Cackling madly, the Matou patriarch went away, followed by his black Servant, leaving the room without looking back.

* * *

Back in the library, the old vampire focused his whole attention on the killer, who was clutching his side. The wound was dripping blood still. Even though a Servant couldn't die from blood loss, the wound was painful and would heal at a normal rate, as the Assassin class didn't have powerful healing abilities like the more noble Class.

"So, Assassin, what happened while you were looking for my puppet? I didn't think this priest could harm a Servant, even though he was an executor from the church. He shouldn't be able to wound you so much."

"He didn't. There was a Servant. The priest called him Archer. He was on a whole other level than any other Spirit I have ever seen. He was going to fire numerous weapons when the priest stopped him to interrogate me." The shrivelled old man kept silent for a few moments and then started to cackle insanely.

"Ka kaka kakakaka. So the golden king stayed in this world? Kotomine Kirei, you truly are an interesting man. You managed to keep a weapon so powerful for a decade without being noticed. What a fearsome individual." The old magus stopped his insane laughter and got a thoughtful face. "It means that Kirei knows what was inside of Sakura, but he still didn't stop it. As usual, it seems he will look for something entertaining in the sadness and sorrow of others."

"About that, what was the heart of this girl? It almost felt like ..."

"Like a Servant's one, didn't it? You see, Sakura was a bit of an experiment I started a decade ago. As you certainly know, during the fourth Holy Grail War, the prize was destroyed by the winner, which started the fire that destroyed a portion of Fuyuki. Still, nobody seemed to care about the fragments. I took one and morphed it into a piece of flesh I introduced into Sakura's heart, so she would become the physical embodiment of the Holy Grail. At this time, I only wanted to mimic the homunculus from the Einzbern family, but it seems my experiment was more successful than I thought."

"And what will happen, now that it has been sealed into this boy's body? Will he become ..."

"Yes, once the fusing process done, Shinji would have become the next vessel of the Holy Grail if he had been a magus. As he is, he will merely become a magical energy battery, with the ability to suck mana from the soul of others, like a Servant. As it has already absorbed the magical energy from Caster, Lancer and Saber, I will have a powerful weapon to win this war very soon." As the old man's insane cackle started once again, Assassin couldn't help but marvel at how twisted and broken humans could become.

It didn't matter either way. As long as Master and Servant shared the same goal, the magus would have his undying loyalty.

Interlude out

* * *

Interlude 2

The whole trip back from the church had been quiet. Feeling his Master rage, Archer had kept unusually quiet. Earlier he had taunted Emiya Shirou about his ideals but the brat hadn't reacted like he thought he would. The death of Matou Sakura had been unexpected and if he was honest with himself, a bit hurtful, even after all this time. However, in the end it meant that another Master was defeated and another Servant would disappear, unless Rider managed to make a new contract in the next few hours but the probability was very slim. Focusing back on the pigtail-haired magus, he crossed his arms as he leaned on the wall of her tea-room. Tohsaka Rin was sitting impassively, drinking tea but behind her stony mask, Archer could see that the girl was feeling rage and frustration.

"So Rin, what will happen now? Kotomine seemed to be sure you would still fight in this war, but I would like to hear from you what you intend to do." At his words, the little magus narrowed her eyes, which looked like blocks of azure ice.

"What are you insinuating Archer? Do you really think I am so weak that I would stop to fight? I am a magus and I fully intended to kill Sakura if it was necessary. Don't underestimate me: it is obvious we will still fight in the war." Her words only made the grin on Archer's face widen.

"I know you enough to see that under all of your magus composure, the death of Matou Sakura hit you hard. But it doesn't matter, I just hope it won't colour your judgement. If you are still willing to fight, I will obviously follow you, but it brings me back to my first question: what happens now? Who do you intend to fight?" Archer's tone was disinterested. It didn't really matter to him but he wanted to see how the girl in red would react to Sakura's death.

"There are only a few Servants left: Assassin, Berserker and you, if we assume Rider disappeared as well after Sakura's death. Normally, Assassin would be the obvious choice, but I'm afraid Zouken will have some trick up his sleeve. Besides the alliance between the Matou and the Tohsaka prevent me from attacking him first, unless we are the last Masters left. On the other hand, even if Berserker is insanely powerful, his Master seems to lack experience. It should be possible to infiltrate her domain and kill her before she can use her Servant." The servant in red stared at Rin with narrowed eyes.

"I see, but what of the kid? What will you do about Emiya Shirou? Even though he told you he would try to stop you, you never said anything about what was your plan concerning him. I find it strange, if you consider he would be the easiest target of them all."

"Are you serious Archer? Emiya-kun isn't a Master anymore so why would he be a threat to us? He told us himself: he doesn't have the power to stop this war by himself, that's why he came to us for an alliance. That much didn't change. He's still powerless. Don't you think we have more urgent things to do than plotting about someone who isn't even a factor anymore?" The white-haired Servant shook his head while sighing.

"It still amazes me how mature you can be for just about everything, but this kid can make you act childish to the point of foolishness. Make no mistake I never said he would be a threat. I just said that Emiya Shirou was an unknown factor which could be easily removed. Even if he can't harm us directly, he could do or say some things that could put us at a disadvantage. Why take the risk when we could resolve the problem quickly and efficiently?"

"That's enough Archer" Rin's sharp tone of voice admitted no objections. "I told you we would let Emiya-kun be for now. Should he oppose us on the battlefield, I will be the first to put him down, but for now and until he is determined to be a threat we won't actively pursue him. Is it clear, Servant?" Curiously, her answer made his cocky smirk appear again instead of making him mad. He gave her an exaggerate bow.

"Of course Master. I will do as you say. I'm glad to see that even with this weakness, you still have your priorities straight. So, what is the plan of action you intend to follow?"

"We will go to the Einzbern Castle tomorrow to talk with Ilyasviel and see if we can convince her to withdraw from the War. As Fuyuki supervisor, I don't want to terminate another magus if a peaceful solution can be found but if we can't convince her we will kill her before she can unleash Berserker. In the worst case scenario, I am confident we can retreat without too many complications. Even though Ilyasviel is magically powerful she doesn't know magic useful for fighting so she would be a burden on a battlefield. "

"Very well. This plan is reckless, but I agree that we don't have a lot of alternatives. Unfortunately, at this stage of the war, staying put is not really an option as the others will seek us anyway."

"That's what I thought as well. Anyway Archer, could you please look out for threats outside? I feel tired." The red Servant looked at her with an unreadable expression before sighing softly.

"Even though you are a magus, you are still a human. Sakura was your sister you are allowed to be sad for her passing away." His voice was unusually soft as he turned away and vanished in Spirit Form. As soon as Rin got to the safety of her bedroom, she collapsed on her bed, crying for the sister she would never get to know better, who would never call her 'onee-chan' ever again. As she cried, a crazy idea was born in her mind. She knew what the initial goal of the Holy Grail War was. If the Holy Grail was able to open a path to the Root, it should be possible to use it to call back Sakura's soul. Even though keeping the wish granting machine would grant a huge progress in thaumaturgy, calling back a soul was True Sorcery and as such she could explain her actions to the Clock Tower if it came to that. Now there were no more doubts in her mind: She would win this war and get the Grail at any cost. With her newfound resolve, she fell asleep almost instantly.

Interlude out.

* * *

_I was lying on the ground. I could feel the soft grass under my back and the sunshine on my face. I could smell the salty odour of the sea from the wind, mixed with a sweet aroma, almost like honey. Opening my eyes, I was greeted by a blue sky, above a wild meadow. On my right, the sea was visible a few miles from my position but it was the sight just in front of me that got my attention. Three little girls were playing with flowers. They looked like two of them were eight or nine and the third was about four. Even though they were young they already had a fairy-like beauty that couldn't come from human lineage. From their similar looks, they were obviously siblings. _

_ "Huh, how do you do it, Eury?" _

_ "Now now Medusa, you don't have to put so much pressure on the flower or the stem will break and you won't be able to make your crown." It looked like the two eldest were teaching the youngest how to make flower crowns, and from the look of it, the pupil was quite clumsy. Focusing a bit more on the girl who was trying again to make her crown, I was surprised to look at a younger version of Rider. There was no trace of the emotionless face she had worn since I met her, just the innocent and expressive face of a little girl. What could have happened to her to kill her emotions like that? _

_ "Yay, I did it! Look, look, isn't it pretty?" Flailing her arms with too much enthusiasm, the frail crown fell apart, making the little girl pout angrily. At this sight, her sisters couldn't help but burst in laughing. As Medusa clumsily started chasing after the older girls, I felt an odd sensation..._

... And woke up in my futon.

"Hmmm, it was a weird dream. I wonder what it was about. The youngest girl was obviously Rider but who were the two others. She called one of them 'Eury'..." Suddenly, the proverbial bulb lightened up. Euryale and Stheno. Medusa's older sisters. The three of them were known as the Gorgons but only Medusa had the power of petrifaction, though she wasn't immortal as were the two eldest.

"Still, little Rider sure was clumsy, wasn't she?" I had some difficulty to link the picture of this innocent little girl, and the one of the beautiful but deadly woman she was now. I looked at the alarm near my bed and it indicated 5:45. It seemed I didn't oversleep like the day before. I still had a lot of time to make breakfast.

As I got up to get started on my day, pain raked my whole body as the bruises from the day before made themselves known again. With the pain came the sudden remembrance of the events from yesterday, banishing instantly every bit of my good mood. The room started to spin around me and I had to grit my teeth to stop the nausea.

Everything had happened: the fight against Rider, the truth about rider's true Master, which had been Sakura all along, Sakura going berserk and sucking magical energy from everybody, my conversation with Ilya and finally... learning about Sakura's death.

"Gurk..." I nearly lost the battle against my stomach and collapsed on my knees, my limbs shaking and cold sweat dripping along my spine. As I took a look at my left hand, I got the final proof I wasn't just living a very life-like nightmare. There laid the Command Spells, the holy mark of a Master in the Holy Grail War, the evidence of my recent contract with the Servant Rider. Speaking of which...

"Rider, come out please..." I took a deep breath. Being angry would accomplish nothing for now. I would have all the time to be sad and angry after the War but right now I had to focus on how to destroy this abomination they called 'Holy'. As I calmed myself a bit and could finally unclench my fists, I absently noticed the deep cut on my left hand had almost disappeared, even though it was still a bit stiff. I felt a shift beside me and a tall figure appeared from thin air.

"Good morning Rider." The gastric juice had mostly settled in my stomach and I finally felt calm enough to greet Rider as normally as I could. She stared at me with an unreadable expression for a few seconds before nodding briefly her head.

"It seems your body is doing fine. Your arms seem to move well enough and your hand doesn't bleed anymore." Huh, it seemed Rider wasn't someone for small talk and was more the type to go directly to the point. It was fine for now, but I hoped she would open a bit more in the future.

"Let's go to the dining room. I wanted to talk about some things and this way, we can eat at the same time." Rider only nodded and went instantly on my right side, about a step behind me. Rising an eyebrow at the display, I started thinking about the breakfast I would make and what kind of ingredients I still had.

* * *

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Didn't you want to talk with me?" After a few minutes of tense silence, it was Rider who started the conversation.

We were sitting across from each other in the dining room. I had received a phone-call from Fuji-nee earlier where she told me that following Sakura's death, there were a lot of legal matters to take care of and that she wouldn't come to my house for a few days. To hear the normally unshakable hurricane that was Fuji-nee sound so broken and weak made me ever more determined to destroy this harbinger of death they called a Grail.

I made breakfast more out of habitude than anything else. Fortunately, there were still some leftovers from the day before and enough ingredients to make some miso soup but I mentally noted I would have to buy some groceries sooner or later. The food was on the table and we were eating. Well I was eating and staring intently at Rider, who did nothing more than sit there silently and stare back at me.

"Won't you eat anything?" I couldn't help myself. It seemed so wrong to sit at a table without eating, especially if there was food.

"I told you. I don't need food, so what is the point in eating?"

"You told me, but is it totally useless?"

"No. It can be used as a last resort if there isn't any magical energy transmitted from the Master to the Servant. I assume Saber needed to eat to replenish her magical energy? However in this case you provide me with magical energy. I think it's because this time, the summoning was correctly done. Does it really matter if I eat or not?"

"It does to me. I find it wrong and uncomfortable to eat while you are just sitting here looking at me. It looks as if I was starving you. I won't accept that a guest in my home won't eat my cooking." In the end, I was almost shouting when I stopped myself and bowed my head apologetically. "Sorry Rider, I didn't mean to get carried away like that but it would be easier for me if you were eating." The purple-haired Servant looked at me with a bemused expression before sighing.

"You truly are a very stubborn individual. Very well, for your peace of mind, I'll eat at the same time as you." She took her chopsticks and started eating in a fast but precise and neat way. It seemed Rider had the same mindset for eating that she had for anything else she did. I stared at her for a few more moments before shaking my head and focusing back on what needed to be said.

"Well, there were some things I wanted your opinion on, and some questions I wanted to ask you, if it's ok with you." At her curt nod, I elaborated. "First of all, I know I already told you, and you agreed with me, that our goal wasn't the Holy Grail. Not only do I not need it, but I want to destroy it with everything I have. What we need to talk about is our plan of action."

"More particularly which Servant or Master we should go after in priority." At my nod, she took a pondering position, which amazed me slightly as she was still destroying the breakfast with brutal efficiency. After a few moments, she looked back at me.

"I don't think it is a particularly difficult choice. We both know that we can't take on Assassin and Zouken together for now. You told yourself you wouldn't go against Berserker's Master for now so it only leaves Archer and his Master. Still, we have a small advantage for now."

Yes, the fact that Rider was still in this world was only known by the two of us. As long as I kept my head bowed, the other Masters wouldn't really have a reason to go after me and I could play that to my advantage. The only problem was that it would only work until my first battle against a Master. That and I didn't particularly want to fight Tohsaka if I could prevent it. Even though we had taken different paths, I still had a deep respect for her.

"For now, you think it would be better to keep low and do the maximum we can to increase our chances." It wasn't a question, so Rider didn't answer. She merely nodded once again. I noticed that she had put her chopsticks back on the table and was a bit awed when I saw that all the food had disappeared. Did every Servant eat this much? Shaking my head to chase away the distracting thought, I focused back on the conversation.

"I agree with you. As long as we don't find evidence of a Master killing innocent people, we'll avoid fighting as much as we can. Still, there is something I have to do before we make any other plan. I told you I owed Ilya, Berserker's Master. As every Master knows about the link between her and the Holy Grail, you can be sure there will be an attack on her sooner or later. I would like to go warn her about it, and asking her to formally ally with us."

"I won't deny I'm curious about your relation with Berserker's Master, but it doesn't matter. You are my Master, Shirou. If you want to go, I'll follow you, protect you, and if needed, I'll run away with you. This, I swore when I became a Servant." For a split second, I felt like a 'déjà-vu', as a similar conversation had occurred between a majestic blue-clad swordswoman and me. Even though they were two totally different people, their loyalty to their Master was exactly the same. I smiled at the impassive woman in front of me.

"Thank you Rider, it's good to know, but the same goes to you. If it is in my power to help you, I'll do it in a heartbeat." Even though I had only known her for a day, I was already quite fond of the quiet Servant. "But my question was more about how to get there. Knowing the way isn't an issue, as Ilya showed me the way in my mind, but I would like to know the time you would need to take me there. She's living in the great forest a bit out of town." Rider nodded her understanding and thought for a few seconds before turning back to look at me.

"It depends on several factors, but assuming I can get us a vehicle to ride towards the forest and then if I was to carry you within the forest, I should make it in about two hours." Wow, the tales about the Rider Class' speed weren't so far-fetched it seemed.

"That's good, I have a feeling events will come faster and faster as we reach this war's end. Still there is a last issue. As I am now, I'm barely a match for some Master, let alone a Servant. Even if you tell me that I have some potential as a magus, it won't do me any good if I'm dead before I can use magecraft. That's why Saber wanted to give me some sword training. It wouldn't do much against a Servant obviously, but it could keep me alive a bit longer. That's why I would like you to teach me how to fight." I bowed deeply to the purple-haired Servant who sat, arm crossed and her hand on her chin, pondering.

"Hmmm, I can't deny that you knowing how to fight wouldn't hurt. You seem to have a more than decent body and very good battle instinct so you just lack skills and experience. Unfortunately, our body types are way too different to teach you my style of fighting as you would lack the flexibility to perform it but I can give you battle experience by fighting against you. As for your magecraft, while I'm no magus, I hold some knowledge that could be of use." I was a bit surprised at her last words, but quickly berated myself. I had seen Rider create an entire bounded field, draw a summoning circle, and she could see magic circuits with her mystic eyes. It wasn't so outrageous that she would have knowledge of magecraft. I nodded excitedly at Rider while smiling brightly at her.

"Then, I guess I'll be in your care, Rider-Sensei!" Huh, was that a blush on her cheeks?

* * *

"Your guard is slow. You won't stop even one blow if you can't go faster!" Kicking my shinai from my grip, she thrust her nail to my face. Just before the blow would land, the weapon vanished, replaced by an opened palm which connected to my head, sending me flying a few feet away.

"Guh" Rider was certainly a slave driver. In some ways, she was even worse that Saber was, and Saber had been a harsh taskmaster.

It started a few hours ago. Taking in account Rider's speed, we agreed to leave at about ten o'clock so we could reach the Einzbern castle at around noon. Still it left us with three hours of nothing to do so Rider decided it would be a good time to assess my battle skills.

Flashback

"Err, Rider-san, are you sure you have to use your usual weapon just for a spar?" In front of me stood Rider, in her usual fighting stance, legs arched to give the most power, bending forwards so she could easily shift her mass centre and her chained nails poised to strike.

"There is no alternative. Unlike a swordsman, I can't easily replace those nails with a shinai or another practice weapon. But you don't have to worry. I am your Servant so it is impossible for me to harm you irremediably. The most you will get from this spars are some bruises." Oddly, even though I was glad I wouldn't die in such a stupid manner as by friendly strike, the matter-of-facts tone of voice she had taken while telling me I would get bruised sounded ominous. Still it was what I was looking for so I nodded hesitantly and took a ready stance with my shinai. Before I could even blink, I felt pain in my right arm as Rider pushed the shinai away, and my breath was lost as an opened palm stroke me in the guts.

"That was the first death. As soon as you take a stance, you are liable to get attacked so you have to be ready." She leaped back and landed in her fighting stance.

As I could breathe again and as I readied my weapon again, a small part of me couldn't help but ask itself how the purple-haired Servant could sound so seductive while saying she would beat me up.

Flashback end

Now here we were, about two hours later. It had gone basically the same as the first bout as I was mercilessly beaten each time. Still, I felt some improvement: the last few spars, I had been able to dodge her first strike, and even sometimes, the follow-up attack that would come instantly after. The fighting style she used was quite tricky, as not only did she use two weapons, but the chain itself could be used as a weapon, a shield or a restraint. If it wasn't enough, her physical abilities were truly amazing.

As I stood and went to pick up my shinai, I thought about the different battles I had seen Rider fight in. So far I had seen her fight three times: the fight against Assassin had been so one-sided on Rider's side that I didn't get anything that would help me against her. The battle with Saber had been interesting but I couldn't use the blue swordsman's style as I didn't have either her instincts or raw magical power. On the last battle however, the way Archer fought had been burned in his mind. It had already occurred the first night, when he had seen the battle between Lancer and Archer. Unlike the spear master or Saber, Archer's style didn't seem so inhuman. I got the feeling it was a style that even a normal human could master after years of training. The other reason why I couldn't remove Archer's style from my mind was the weapons he used. Chinese falchions in Yin and Yang colours. I didn't know why, but just thinking about those blades was striking a chord deep inside me.

Well it was not like I had anything to lose. After picking my first shinai, I went picking another from the rack on the side. Rider stayed silent, but I could feel her full attention on the second weapon I took. I closed my eyes for a second, and then nodded to the purple-haired Servant. She immediately rushed at me and threw one of her nails towards my neck. In a split-second, I remembered her using the same technique against Archer the day before. My body moved on instinct and the shinai in my left hand managed to come just in time to deflect the thrust, while I threw my right arm in a high backswing to block the slash from the second nail. The shinai shattered and my whole right arm went numb from the shock but I didn't pay it attention as I used all my strength to slash at the Servant with my left arm. Before it came midway to her neck, Rider's arm stroke like a snake, grasped my wrist and projected me on the ground.

"Urgh" Once again, I lost my breath as my back hit the wooden ground. Well it was to be expected. What would it says if I could beat a Heroic Spirit with some half-assed mimicry? As I got back up on my feet, I noticed Rider wasn't in a fighting stance, but had her arms crossed in a pondering fashion.

"Hmmm it seems you truly have good physical abilities. Your strength and resilience are very high, though you are a bit slow. You seem to know the very basics in swordsmanship, more likely Saber's work. However, during the last bout, you didn't use Saber's style, more like you were trying to copy..." Wow, as expected from a battle-hardened Servant. She could give an accurate assess of my skills in just a few bouts.

"Yeah, I tried to use Archer's style. I don't know but when I saw him fight, his moves seemed to be familiars for some reason and ..." I stopped abruptly as I noticed the impassive look Rider was sending my way. Somehow, it seemed blanker than usual. And then it hits me like a ton of bricks.

"Sorry Rider. I know he's an enemy and here I am, using his style. I'm very sorry." I bowed to her, clapping my hands in apology. After looking at me for a few seconds more, Rider sighed and shook her head in a bemused fashion.

"No, it's nothing. After all, I agree his style seems to suit you so if it can keep you alive, I won't complain. Anyway, even if you can follow me a bit while I'm moving at superhuman speed, you won't be anywhere near a match for a Servant. Still, you should be able to dodge the first strike and maybe have the time to call for me with a Command Spell. There is hope for you to make it through this war in relatively good shape it seems."

Oh, was Rider teasing me? From what I knew of the Servant I would have discarded the notion as foolish but when I looked at her face, I was sure there was a small upward curve on her lips. I pointed accusatory at her.

"Rider, did you just tell a joke and smile?" Damn, once again my mouth went off before thinking.

"I certainly did not." Truly, there was no trace of smile on her lips, and was it just me or did her voice sound more emotionless than usual? Comparing her expressionless self in front of me, and the little Rider from my dream, I couldn't help but think a smile would suit her better.

"Pity, I think you would be even prettier than you usually are if you were smiling mo...re o...ften." My voice trailed on as my mind processed what I was saying. "Err I think I'll shut up for now?" I half-said, half-asked to the frozen Servant standing in front of me.

"..."

"Err, Rider, are you ok?"

"... It doesn't matter. Shirou, weren't you the one who wanted to go to the Einzbern castle? It is nearly ten." As soon as she finished, she vanished in Spirit Form.

"As I thought, she's definitely pissed off ..."

* * *

Interlude

"Remind me once again why it is you that holds the map?" The tone was bored but the sarcasm could be felt, just below as the Servant Archer looked at his Master with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you implying, Archer?" The pigtailed girl stared back at her Servant with a beatific smile. Said Servant just smirked at her while crossing his arms.

"Nothing in particular. Just that if we were to follow this map, we should have reached the Einzbern castle about an hour ago. Are you sure we're on the right way, Rin?" The smile vanished on Rin's vanished instantly, replaced by a twitching eyebrow.

"Now, see here... Is it really my fault this map isn't accurate when it comes to distance? Anyway, I'm sure we're not far from the castle." The girl in red said, trying to project more confidence than she was really feeling. She paused as she noticed her Servant wasn't paying attention to her, looking a bit further away.

"Well, what do you know, we ARE close to the castle after all." Archer was talking with an amazed tone of voice as he shook his head. The black-haired Master harrumphed while turning her head away.

"Humph, that's what you get for doubting me."

"Well at first I didn't want my boundary field to grant you access to my home, but your old married couple routine is getting boring." A sweet giggling voice was coming from the trees surrounding the pair.

"Ilyasviel..."

"Hehehe, did you really you could sneak in my forest without me knowing, Rin? How cute. But what kind of host would I be if I didn't invite you for tea."

The red Servant and Master walked slowly towards the castle, only to be greeted by their host, sitting on a small table, sipping tea. Seeing them, the snow-fairy-like girl stood and did a curtsy.

"Greetings, Rin. I'm glad to see you here. Did you come to surrender? If so, I'll accept your apologies and let you live." She smiled an innocent smile and giggled sweetly.

"You misunderstand, Ilyasviel. I came here to formally ask you to withdraw from this war. If you refuse to surrender your Command Spells, I'll have to terminate you and your Servant." In contrast to Ilya's childish behaviour, Rin's face was stony and her voice didn't betray any emotion. It didn't seem to bother the snow daughter as she calmly sipped what was left of her tea and then pierced the older girl with her ruby eyes.

"What do you hope to do, should you get the Holy Grail, Rin? Do you really think you could use what almost destroyed Fuyuki with impunity? Do you even know what the Holy Grail is really?" Gone was the childishness. Only the Einzbern's Master was left, a homunculus whose whole purpose was to embody the Holy Grail.

"I know enough about it. Anything else is irrelevant. I'll ask you a last time, Ilyasviel von Einzbern: will you withdraw from the Holy Grail war, or will you accept your death as a Master?"

"You know, I pity you, Rin. At first I thought Onii-chan was the most distorted person I ever saw, but it seems your distortion goes pretty deep as well. Always making your gentle side and your magus side coexist, it is no wonder you act the way you are. Still, you came to my home and asked me to fight. It's unfortunate for Onii-chan because he likes you, but neither of you will walk away alive." Even though the albino girl had a sad smile on her face, it was belied by the huge magical energy swirling around her small frame and the glowing of a gigantic Command Spell engraved all over her body.

"Are you kidding me? How could you have such a command spell? Unless you are ..." The pigtailed Master could only stare in horror at the little girl.

"You are right, Rin. I am a homunculus created by the Einzbern family with only one goal: bring back the Holy Grail to the family. As such, surrender and defeat are not allowed for me. Kill them, Berserker."

A loud roar resonated in the clearing. From behind the albino Master, a giant with black skin and a sword as tall as some grown men rushed at the opposing Master and Servant pair.

"Archer, do what you must to stop Berserker while I'll take care of the Master." Rin took a jewel out of her pocket and darted to the side, away from the knight in red and the oncoming dark giant. As soon as she hit the ground, she threw her jewel at Ilya. The gem unleashed huge magical energy toward Ilya. The white-haired Master just looked at it disinterestedly and with a gesture, cancelled the spell.

"Fufufu, did you really think you could hit me with such a simple attack? You really are a naive girl, aren't you Rin?"

Meanwhile, Berserker had reached the red-clad Servant and brought down his stone sword to cleave him in half. Archer leaped back as twin swords of Yin and Yang appeared in his hands. Not a second after, the two falchions were spinning like a circle of death and arched to strike the giant in his blind spot on his neck.

...Only to be deflected by the mad warrior's hard skin, not leaving even a scratch.

"Tche, as expected from Heracles. I won't be able to harm him with such low ranked attacks." Even though he seemed to be as a disadvantage, the red knight's face was twisted in a cocky smirk. "Come on, big guy. I will show you the power of an archer." Gathering mana in his legs, Archer jumped on top of a tree.

"_Trace, on –_"A black bow as tall as he was appeared in his hand. This bow was too thick to be able to launch normal arrows but that was fine. It wasn't used for normal archery after all. In his right hand, a long golden spear could be seen. The spear glowed with a soft golden light, and a continuous stream of blood seemed to be coming from the tip of the spearhead to the end of the pole. In a blink, the spear was changed into a smaller and thicker version of itself that the bowman in red knocked into the bow. Red lightning started to crackle around the arrow as Archer overloaded its magical capacity, making it unstable, making it dangerous, making it broken.

Feeling a real threat, Berserker instantly stopped his mad charge and brought his sword in an intercepting way. However, it was too late as the red knight had already let his arrow loose. The wind hurled as the missile zeroed on the giant, piercing his side with a wet sound. The smirk on Archer's widened.

"Be gone." Those were his only words as he snapped his fingers. The arrow still deeply rooted in Berserker's side glowed brightly before engulfing the Servant in a huge explosion.

The snow daughter could only look in shock at the spot where her Servant was.

"How... How could a nameless archer kill Berserker? Just an arrow shouldn't have been able to pierce berserker's skin."

"Don't underestimate me, daughter of the snow. This spear was said to have pierced God Himself."

Shock was replaced by anger as the white haired magus glared at Archer

"I won't forgive you. I definitely won't forgive either of you."

Rin was also shocked at her Servant, but focused on her battle and took the opening left by the white-haired girl.

"I got you!" But as she was closing on Ilya, a sudden instinct made her dive sideways. A moment later, a gigantic halberd slashed at the space where her head just had been. The weapon was hold by a girl with a striking resemblance to Ilya, but looking older. Another girl with the same face, but set in a stern expression had made her appearance besides the little Master.

"I won't allow you to harm Ilya." The girl holding the halberd talked in a dreamy monotone.

"Leysritt, I have already told you not to call Ilyasviel-sama with such an informal name." The stern girl said in a scolding voice.

"Sella, Leysritt, you are late. What were you doing?"

"Our deepest apologies Ilyasviel-sama. But now that we are there, we will take care of the intruders." Sella took a ready stance, as did Leysritt.

"Humph, I didn't want to use this trump card now, but three on one are not good odds for me." Rin muttered angrily as she took out three glowing jewels. "_Spirits of stone, Spirit of ice I ask of you; Gather around me and bind my foe._" The incantation released the magical energy stored in the gems. The first was used to summon the power of ice, the second to summon the petrifying power of earth and the last was to create a synergic effect between the two that would reinforce the spell. Immediately, a gale of magical energy blew around the Master and her two maids. As it stopped, the two maids had been restrained in an ice coffin, reinforced with stone. However, the snow fairy hadn't been caught.

"That spell was very powerful, Rin. If I didn't have such a high ability to dispel magic around me, I would have been caught as well. Unfortunately, Leysritt and Sella don't have this ability."

"It doesn't matter anyway. Your Servant has been killed and your bodyguards are useless for now. You have lost, Ilyasviel."

However, instead of the defeated look Rin wanted to see on the Einzbern Master, the white-haired girl started to giggle.

"Fufufu. I'll admit your Servant's attack was amazing. It even managed to kill Berserker. However, are you familiar with the legend of Heracles? He had to accomplish twelve labours. Twelve tasks, rumoured impossible for anybody. But he managed to accomplish them and as a reward, was made immortal to sit among the gods." Dawning realization came to the pigtailed girl's face. "Yes Rin, here is the Noble Phantasm of my Berserker: God's Hand." At this words, an angry roar filled the clearing again as the smoke from the explosion dissipated, revealing the black giant, without a scratch on him.

"Are you serious? This monster has a stock of resurrection sorcery on him?" In comparison with his freaking Master, Archer kept his cool.

"It doesn't change anything. We just have to kill him until he stays dead." Instantly, the Lance of Longinus was again in his hand. With an expert move, the arrow was knocked and let loose in a blink of eyes. The aim was true and the arrow went to Berserker's side again, but shattered harmlessly as soon as it touched the skin.

"What?" Both Servant and Master were dumbfounded as the giant just shrugged the weapon which had killed him just a few moments ago.

"Fufufu, God's Hand isn't just a stock of resurrection sorcery. It also tremendously hardens Berserker's skin and makes him immune to what has already killed him. It is impossible to kill Berserker twice in the same way." The little Master concluded, giggling happily.

Meanwhile, the mad warrior had charged the tree Archer was on top of and destroyed it like a toothpick with his axe-sword. While in mid-air, using the skill granted to him by a lifetime of training and battle, Archer was able to keep calm and launch his counter attack.

"_Trace on-." _Magical energy gathered in the red knight's hands as a gigantic zambatou made its appearance. It was dark as night, with a fifty centimetres grip and a two metres blade. The kanji for loyalty was etched on the guard. "Yue-Fei!" Calling its true name, Archer used the momentum gained from falling and added it to the weight of the sword. Berserker managed to deflect the blow with his own sword, but couldn't avoid the loss of his left arm, which was cleaved cleanly from the shoulder down.

"Tche, I missed" The Archer leaped back to avoid a swing from the wounded giant but got a gash on his thigh because of the air pressure from the blow. "Damn, even wounded he can use this sword with so much strength. As expected from the one said to be the strongest Hero."

Meanwhile, the two Masters were gobsmacked from the display.

"Archer, you truly are..." Rin could only stare at her Servant, holding his ground against the juggernaut and winning so far.

"Are you serious? At first this spear, now this sword... It's like he's projecting Noble Phantasms. Just who is he?" Again, the huge Command Spell engraved on her body glowed as anger filled her. "Stop playing around and kill him, Berserker. You won't be defeated by a nameless archer." An ominous red fog gathered around the black giant as the mad enhancement was totally let loose. With the dramatic increase in strength and speed, Archer had just the time to project Kanshou and Bakuya and cross them to parry the blow. Even then, he was sent flying like a ragdoll, and was painfully stopped by a tree.

"Archer!"

"Fufufu, even if your Archer is quite interesting, he won't ever win if it is a contest of pure physical strength against my Berserker."

Indeed, the red knight was running for his life as the mad warrior was following him, destroying trees and boulders standing in his way as if they were nothing.

"If I take another blow like the last, my arms won't hold on. It seems I will have to get creative to win this fight." Having run almost a full circle after being sent flying, Archer had come back into the clearing where the castle stood. Even though he would have a height advantage if he could stay on top of a tree, Berserker would be able to destroy any heightened place he could find so a clear battlefield was better for him as it would allow him to dodge attacks more easily. As he was waiting for the giant to come out from the forest, his bow appeared again in his hand.

"_I am the bone of my sword"_ A drill-like sword was created and quickly altered into a form more suited to an arrow. Once again, he filled the missile with magical energy to make it broken, and let it loose at the mad warrior. "Caladbolg" The sword flew true and exploded on contact, shredding Berserker's left side and destroying his heart, left lung and part of his stomach. Then, as if time was going backwards, the damages undid themselves and the left arm was fully regenerated. The glowing red eye lit again as the giant stood up with his battle roar.

"_Steel is my body, and fire is my blood_" A new weapon appeared in the red knight's hand. This time it was a superb sword, with an ebony grip and a blade which seemed to reflect the sunlight even in the darkest of places. A holy sword given by an angel and said to be able to grant three miracles. As the holy sword was lifted to block the upward slash from the heavy stone sword, it held its ground without faltering. As the black giant swung his weapon in a whirlwind of death, each strike was met by the seemingly indestructible blade.

"_I have created over a thousand blades_" After it met yet another strike from the mad warrior, the blade started to glow brightly as its innate power was about to be used.

"Kill it, Durandal" As its true name rang, the sword's ability activated, transcending reality as a miracle occurred and the blade cleanly cleaved Berserker's head off his shoulders.

A few yards away, the two Masters could only gape in amazement at the battle. Part of the forest had been shredded and the earth bore gouges and scars from the blows. Still each Servant was going stronger and stronger.

Rin couldn't make head or tails from the situation. Nothing made sense. How could a mere Archer use so many different Noble Phantasms? So far, she had counted at least two Noble Phantasms from totally different legend so it didn't make sense that a lone Hero could use them.

On the other side, Ilya was getting worried. Even though it shouldn't have been possible, the so-called nameless Archer had taken three lives from Berserker. If it went on, there was even a possibility that Berserker would lose and she couldn't let that happen.

"Berserker, come back to me and kill Archer's Master" The Command Spell glowed and space-time was distorted as reality rearranged itself to move the mad warrior besides the winter daughter, in striking range from Rin.

"_Unknown to death, nor known to life_. As if I would let you. Rho Aias!" The killing blow from Berserker's weapon got stopped as a flower-like shield appeared in front of Rin. A seven-petal shield which every petal was said to be as strong as a castle wall. Still, Heracles had been known and revered for his colossal strength so his blows started to destroy the great shield. Already did the first petal fall and the second was well on his way down.

"_Have withstood pain to create many weapons. Divine skills, flawless and firm_." The twin swords shone again in his hands and were immediately thrown towards the giant. Like the first time, they were deflected. "_Our strength rips the mountain and our swords split the water_." Only to be replaced by another pair which was promptly thrown again. The four swords danced in the air before coming down simultaneously on Berserker and engulfing in a great explosion. "_Our names reach the imperial villa; the two of us cannot hold the heavens together._" A third pair of twin swords appeared and were filled to the brim with magical energy, making them unstable. To compensate, they took a elongated form which made them look like wings in white and black. Archer fell like an angel of fury on the mad warrior and slashed him with the two over edged weapons. As soon as he stroke, he picked up Rin and leapt back as the weapons became broken, freeing their entire magical energy, killing Berserker for the fourth time.

"Berserker!" Ilya's voice was filled with fear for the first time since the start of the battle. She had thought the battle would be easy as Berserker would crush anyone standing in his way, yet this enemy not only could keep with the mad warrior, but was actually beating him.

"Berserker, we're retreating, else we'll die!" The panicked little Master was nearly hyperventilating. Once again, the dark giant regenerated himself and picked his little Master before kicking the ground towards the forest.

Meanwhile, Archer had taken his bow once again and made another weapon appear in his hand. It was a spear, thick and with a huge spearhead, like it was made to destroy huge creatures.

"_Yet those hands will never hold anything. _As if I would let you run away. Go, Ascalon." The arrow was let loose and its aim was true. Berserker had just the time to drop his charge on the ground, before she was caught in the powerful attack. The spear, specially created to hunt and kill Phantasmal Beasts and supernatural creatures once again found the giant's heart, ending his life for the fifth time. Ilya was whimpering besides his fallen but recovering form.

The red knight was walking slowly towards the opposing pair. His face was carefully blank. Behind him, Rin had finally managed to school her face into a neutral mask. She would have time later to grill her Servant on his abilities and why he didn't say anything about them earlier. For now, they needed to destroy the black giant once and for all.

"_So, as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works_." The aria was completed. A burst of fire circled around the four, and behind the fire, only hard red ground was left. Soon, the clearing and the castle had disappeared, replaced by a deserted landscape. The air was saturated with dust and the sky was filled with monolithic gears, slowly turning. In the background was the faint sound of thousands of hammers, striking iron. And swords. Thousands of swords, hundreds thousands of swords, maybe more.

"Welcome to my world." Archer's voice was a paradox. The words were both filled with pride, but equally filled with bitterness.

The snow daughter was too shocked to say anything, while the mad warrior couldn't care less. However, the pigtailed Master couldn't help herself.

"Reality Marble... the power to rewrite reality with the caster's own inner world. One of the greatest and forbidden arts, bordering on true Sorcery. Archer, you..."

"This world would be my symbol as a Heroic Spirit. It represents my ability to store and copy any weapon I have ever seen. As you can see, there is an infinity of swords here. Some of so bad quality not even the lowest scum would use them, and some so exquisite that kings would sell their kingdom to get them. Before I destroy your body, you will take some more of them, Berserker!" The red knight lifted his arm and made a sharp downward gesture. Immediately, a rain of steel poured on the white-haired Master and her black Servant.

In the end, it wasn't a fight but an execution. At first, Berserker tried to fend against the falling weapons with his stone sword, but with the sheer number of diverse weapons threatening not only him, but his shaking Master, soon he could only use his body to protect her from the deadly rain. If Berserker had been alone, maybe it would have turned different as the mad warrior could have charged through the rain to attack the red clad Servant but as it was, Berserker took several hundred swords before the rain stopped. Still, pierced as he was, and with more than a fourth of his body missing, the black giant still raised on his feet, in a last act of defiance against the one who had threatened his Master. His core had been hit so many times, his stock of resurrection sorcery was totally depleted and his body would disappear anytime now, but Berserker still found the strength to raise his sword and roar a last time to his enemy, before a last sword found his eye, sent by the bored-looking knight in red.

Berserker fell down and disappeared in a multitude of motes of light. As soon as the giant disappeared, Archer was in movement. Letting the Reality Marble vanish, he ran to Ilya with Kanshou and Bakuya ready to strike. The girl was still shaking and in shock so she didn't even acknowledge the coming Servant. But as the sword was descending on her slender neck,...

"Rider, save Ilya!"

... A rip in the fabric of reality was made, as a long purple-haired black clad Servant came, picked up the shivering girl and leapt back a hundred metres.

"Emiya-kun?"

Interlude out

* * *

"Urgh, I think next time we'll leave a bit earlier if it means you won't ride so fast."

I was a bit green in the face from the trip to the Einzbern forest. Truly, she had shown me how she got her Class. Indeed, her riding skills were praiseworthy, but I was still a bit sick while thinking about how we were going at more than two hundred and ten kilometres per hour with a car so old. Still I couldn't stay mad when the normally expressionless Servant was looking at me with such a sheepish expression. This was reinforced by the fact that Rider was in casual clothes. From what I understood, there had been clothes for her in Sak- _her_ luggage. It seemed _she_ had wanted to introduce Rider to us some time or another. It was a simple black jean and a black polo with a little Pegasus sewn on the left side of her chest but it still made her look cute. What was the killer blow for me was the lack of blindfold. It seemed Rider could use some sort of glasses in place of her blindfold with the same effect. For now, those grey eyes were looking at me with a slightly contrite expression, and I felt as if I had kicked a puppy.

"My apologies, Shirou. It's just that it was the first time I rode a vehicle that could go so fast without it being a phantasmal beast."

"Ah, no it's not really a problem. It's just that I feel a bad about the owners of the car." I answered her while rubbing the back of my head. I wasn't very proud of the fact we had effectively stolen an old taxi from the station but it was a case of ends justifying the means. The car had been old and not used for a long time anyway.

As we entered the Einzbern forest, I could feel the boundary field washing around our form, warning Ilya about our presence I guessed.

"Very well Shirou. You told me you knew the way to the castle so I'll carry you and follow your directions." In a burst of magical energy, Rider was dressed in her battle outfit. I couldn't help but becoming beet red as the implication of her carrying me. I was still a red blooded male and being so close to a gorgeous female was prone to bring a reaction out of me. Still since we got out the taxi, I had been focused on the task at hand so I shook the unnecessary thought out of my head. I nodded once to Rider and let her wrap her arm around my waist while I did the same.

For some time, we travelled in silence, just broken when I was giving her the directions to follow. For some reason though, a loud head ache was pounding in my head and I felt a nausea creeping down on me, increasing as we were approaching the castle. Rider looked at me in concern, but didn't say anything.

However, as we came closer to the castle, a huge roar broke the quiet of the forest and the ground was shaking badly.

"That was Berserker. There have to be another Servant near. Let's be careful, Shirou." Rider warned me as she let me down. We started running to the clearing where I knew the castle stood...

... And stopped frozen at the sight greeting us.

"Reality marble. Which Servant could have a so powerful ability?" Rider's voice sounded awed but I couldn't pay attention to her words.

It wasn't the first time I had seen this sight. Still it made me fall on my knees as I was fighting to keep my last meal in my stomach. My headache was splitting my head open at this point. Still I couldn't take my eyes away from the desolate landscape in front of us. Again, I could feel both the rightness and wrongness of this world and it was tearing me apart.

Meanwhile, after taking several hundred blades to protect his Master, Berserker made a last stand to defy the knight in red. Even though Archer seemed bored, I could see the faint smirk on his lips as he sent a last sword to pierce Berserker's brain through his eyes. As the black giant started to disappear, Archer closed on Ilya with the twin swords that had fascinated the last times I had seen him fight.

Magical energy burst briefly inside me as I looked at the blades and suddenly, informations about their history, abilities and origins filled my mind. Kanshou, the yang blade, black as night with red hexagonal patterns in respect for the blood sacrificed to forge them, and Bakuya, white as a cloud on the blue sky. Those weren't forged as a tool of war, but to test one's limits on craftsmanship. As such, those blades lacked pride, and the desire for greatness. However, they were one, swords which would eternally seek each other even if separated by a thousand kilometres.

I blinked and came back to my sense. Even with Rider's speed, she wouldn't be able to stop Archer from beheading the little girl crying on the ground. Still I had to try.

"Rider, Save Ilya". As the words left my mouth, I felt a sharp pain in my left hand. A Command Spell glowed red before vanishing. I could feel space and time distort as the world moved my Servant from my side to Ilya. The black clad Servant picked up the crying snow fairy and fell back one hundred metres away.

"Emiya-kun?" Tohsaka seemed to be really shocked to see me. Well I could understand her as here I was, fighting as a Master in the Holy Grail War again, with a Servant, no less. Still I didn't have time to ponder about her reaction as Archer threw his twin swords at me.

Oddly, instead of panicking, my mind was calm and I could clearly see the incoming weapons. Even though they were fast and deadly, their speed was nothing in comparison to Rider's. Moreover, I knew those blades. I had seen their history and the years of experience. I brought my reinforced wooden swords up and managed to deflect the circle of death, but my makeshift weapons shattered. It was to be expected. Reinforced wood would never stand against a Noble Phantasm, whatever rank it was. I braced myself for the following attack, but I saw Rider using her nails to prevent Archer from coming closer to me. Still I could see the deflected blades coming back, homing on me again.

Reacting on instincts, I felt magical energy flowing in my circuit, the one which had been awoken by my contract with Rider. As I took a look inside me, I could see the swords, waiting in my mind, a word away from appearing in the world.

"_Trace on-_"In a split second I followed the seven steps which would create the weapons.

Judging the concept of creation, hypothesizing the basic structure, duplicating the materials, imitating the skills of its making, sympathizing with the experience of its growth, reproducing the accumulated years and excelling every manufacturing process.

My hands were poised to grip the handle of swords which had yet to appear. And suddenly, I felt them. I didn't have to look at my hands to know that copies of the twin blades were there, ready to strike. As the twirling circles of death were closing on me to take my head, I felt the blades in my hand move by themselves, my body following the movement. In a dual slash, the four weapons clashed and destroyed each other. The backlash of the destroyed weapons was enough to make me step back, and the headache came stronger than ever.

I felt someone land beside me, and I saw the purple-haired Servant, still holding Ilya looking at me with a worried expression. Even in this situation, I couldn't help but be glad for the emotion on the usually machine-like Servant.

On the other side of the clearing Tohsaka had got over her shock and was now looking at me with calculating eyes. On her side was the red knight, glaring at me, but looking tired. Even though it didn't seem like he was harmed too badly during his battle against Berserker, it seemed he had used a lot of magical energy. In comparison, Rider was nearly at full capacity and even though she was a bit weaker than she could have been, she as still more than a match for the enemy, right now. Tohsaka seemed to come to the same conclusion, as she made face.

"Tche, we're at a disadvantage for now. No matter, we still destroyed Berserker. Come Archer, we're leaving." Just before she left the clearing, she looked at me a last time, and even from the distance, I could clearly see the conflicting emotion in her eyes. "Why, Emiya-kun? Why did you have to become a Master again?" Her voice was soft and there was a pleading quality in it, but before I could gather my thoughts to answer, she had already turned away and left. The knight in red glared a last time at me before vanishing in Spirit Form.

Putting Ilya down on the ground, Rider looked at me in question.

"Should I follow them?" The question was valid. Tohsaka was an enemy and it looked like her Servant wasn't in optimal fighting condition right now. Still...

"Don't. Even though Archer seems weakened, we don't know for sure how weak he really is. And Tohsaka is a powerful magus. Even though she won't be able to deal you damages directly with your magical resistance, she could still be enough of a distraction to allow Archer to kill you. Moreover... I don't think... I'll stay... awake... for a lot longer."

Surrendering to my headache and, now that the adrenaline rush had gone away, feeling numb areas in my body, I closed my eyes and fell in the darkness.

_I stood again on this desolate landscape, surrounded by swords. However I now knew what it was supposed to be. On my side, I could make out the shape of the twin swords that almost killed me and saved my life. Kanshou and Bakuya. Further away, I could hear the sound of battle. As I looked at it, I saw the knight in red, fighting against numerous foes. It was strange though. I couldn't feel any enmity, or any other emotion from Archer. It was almost like looking at a machine, killing out of duty and nothing else. Even though I hated the red Servant with all my heart, I still couldn't help but feel wrong at seeing him so cold and distant, as if nothing else mattered. After avoiding a blow, our eyes locked on each other, even though I didn't think he could see me. Still I could hear his emotionless voice resonating in this world._

"_This is the path of a Hero..." _

_With those words, darkness engulfed the world and I knew no more. _

**Weapons used.**

Gilgamesh:

He used a nameless sword whose legend will inspire the **Colada Sword**, owned by El Cid Campeador. This sword was said to inspire terror to unworthy opponents, if it was wielded by a brave warrior. This weapon would only work on people lacking a moral code, and even then, if the opponent has a magical resistance or mental resistance high enough, he would only feel some pressure, which would decrease the higher the resistance was.

Archer: (in the order they appeared in the chapter with the exception of Kanshou and Bakuya).

**Spear of Longinus**: A holy weapon said to have pierced Jesus-Christ's side when he was on the cross. This spear was said to have been found by the knight of the round table Percival. From its legend, this spear's piercing power is decupled if the opponent is of divine descent, which is why it was so efficient against Heracles.

**Zambatou of Yue-Fei: **Yue-Fei was a general of the Chinese Empire during the Song Dynasty. Known for his undefectible loyalty, he was a tactical genius and was said to be one of the first to use the zambatou as a viable weapon against cavalry.

**Caladbolg**: A demonic sword owned by the Irish Hero Fergus mac Roich. This sword is said to have the power to raze three top hills. It could be considered the natural enemy of Cu Chulainn as he had a geass on him, which would oblige him to lose once against this sword if Fergus was the wielder. Archer altered this sword to make it more suited as an arrow and renamed it **Caladbolg II**.

**Durandal**: A holy sword given by the Angel Gabriel to Charlemagne in a dream. Charlemagne gave it to one of his best knight, Roland. With this sword, Roland was said to have stopped a hundred-thousand strong Moorish army by himself. Indestructible and blessed with three very powerful religious relics, the sword is said to be able to grant three miracles without penalty from the wielder.

**Rho Aias**: One of the few defensive Noble Phantasm present in Unlimited Blade Works. It was the shield of the Hero Ajax during the Trojan War. It was the only shield able to deflect the Trojan Hero Hector's spear. As such, it is said to be the ultimate shield against a throwing weapon. In its released form, Rho Aias takes the form of a seven-petal flower with each petal having the strength of a castle wall.

**Ascalon**: Saint-Michel's spear. It is a holy weapon, wielded by Saint-Michel when he slew the dragon. As it was used to destroy a powerful Phantasmal Beast, this weapon is particularly efficient against Beasts, Demons and supernatural creatures.

**AN**: That's it: here is the second chapter of Tales of a Faker. I would like to warmly thank all and every reviewers, and the people who added this story to favourites and alerts. You guys are the best and I hope this chapter won't disappoint you.

I know that there wasn't much of Shirou's POV in this chapter, but I feel that the other POV were needed to introduce the general situation. For all the Shirou/Rin lovers (who I shamelessly belong to as it is by far my favourite pairing in FSN) I'm sorry to have made her look like the villain, but I still tried to stay true to her characters, same with Archer. From how I plan this fic to turn, the interactions between our favourite Tsundere and the ever dense nice guy will be a bit twisted, but there will still be a deep respect between them. Hope you liked the chapter! As usual, I'll welcome all reviews, even flame (as long as they are constructive to help me improve my writing or the story). This chapter came a bit earlier than I thought but as I already had some parts of it written, I just had to finish it. I don't really know when the next chapter will be uploaded, as it depends on how my work and studies go, but I'll do my best to upload as soon as possible.

Until next time !


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